Jaya Verma Sinha made history on Friday, September 1, 2023, when she came the first woman to assume the charge of CEO and speaker of the Railway Board, the apex decision- making body for the public transporter. Sinha, who belongs to the 1988 batch of Indian Railway Traffic Service( IRTS), succeeded Anil Kumar Lahoti, who retired on August 31.
Sinha’s appointment marks a significant corner in the 166- time history of the Indian Railroads, as she takes on the mantle of leading one of the world’s largest and busiest rail networks. Her trip began 35 times ago when she started as a road business officer, responsible for the overall transportation of freight and passenger services on Indian Railroads.
Sinha has worked in colorful capacities in different zones of Indian Railroads, including Northern Railway, South Eastern Railway and Eastern Railway. She has also served as a road counsel in the High Commission of India in Dhaka, Bangladesh for four times, where she played a crucial part in the induction of the Maitree Express, a passenger train service between Kolkata and Dhaka. She was also the Divisional Railway Manager of Eastern Railway’s Sealdah Division, one of the most congested and complex divisions of Indian Railroads.
Previous to her elevation as CEO and speaker, Sinha was the Member (Operations and Business Development) of the Railway Board since February 2023. In this part, she was necessary in introducing several innovative measures to enhance functional effectiveness and profit generation of Indian Railroads. She also commanded the perpetration of colorful digital enterprise to ameliorate client service and translucency.
Sinha was lately in the news when she explained the complex signalling system after the woeful Balasore accident in Odisha in June 2023, which killed nearly 300 people. She assured that Indian Railroads was taking all necessary way to help similar incidents in the future and to insure safety and security of passengers.
Sinha’s ascent to the top post reflects not only her exceptional capabilities but also the adding recognition of gender diversity and inclusivity in leadership places within India’s railroads. She’s an alleviation for millions of women who aspire to break the glass ceiling and achieve their dreams.
