A heinous crime and a wake up call for Hyderabad’s suburban train services Premium

South Central Railway faces scrutiny over safety measures after attempted sexual assault on woman passenger, highlighting security concerns.

It took an attempt at sexual assault on a woman passenger last Saturday (March 22, 2025) night for the South Central Railway (SCR) to have a re-look at the safety, security, punctuality and frequency of MMTS suburban train services in the capital region. The 23-year-old woman sustained severe injuries after jumping off the moving train in an attempt to escape.

Though top officials have announced safety measures such as CCTV cameras inside coaches, panic buttons, regular patrols by security personnel post the incident, these local trains have long neglected the commuters’ clamour for better services.

Both SCR and the State Government are the guilty partners in this joint venture, launched in August 2003 by then Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani in the presence of then Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya (then Secunderabad MP) and then Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu.

It may be a miracle that no other major crime has been reported on these trains, given the scary stories recounted by several passengers about men travelling in ladies compartments with impunity and complaints of nuisance being ignored.

Commuters claim that rarely have they come across security personnel patrolling the local trains, “Snatching of chains, mobiles and purses have been happening on isolated sections when passengers are few. But, attacking a woman passenger has come as a shock. We shudder at the thought of what could have happened if the victim had not jumped off the train,” says Bharat, a commuter.

Commuters like Sudhir K. Raj and Nagaraj have been flagging the security loopholes, such as the absence of security escorts on the trains, especially on ladies coaches, and posting photos of miscreants causing nuisance during the travel between Yakutpura and Uppuguda as well as Umdanagar and Secunderabad stations. They say they tag the railway authorities on their social media posts.

They also allege that the Railway Protection Force (RPF) are not being proactive, and personnel are found stationed only on select platforms. “MMTS trains are almost empty after Bolarum towards Medchal during the late hours with hardly 15-20 passengers travelling. Each station is a few kilometres away, and there is hardly any ticket checking or security patrol,” says Ahmed, another commuter.