- Five Crucial Departments on SCR i.e., Commercial, Operating, Finance, Security & Medical departments are being led by Women Officers, for the first time in the history of SCR.
Five Important departments on South Central Railway i.e., Commercial, Operations, Finance, Security & Medical departments are currently being led by Women Officers in the South Central Railway zone. Ms. K.Padmaja (IRTS) Principal Chief Operations Manager is currently handling the Operating department, Ms. Aroma Singh Thakur (IRPFS) is leading the Security department as the Inspector General – cum – Principal Chief Security Commissioner (IG-cum-PCSC), Ms. T. Hema Sunitha (IRAS) is leading the Finance wing of SCR as Principal Financial Advisor, Ms. Ity Pandey (IRTS) is leading the commercial department as Principal Chief Commercial Manager, SCR, while Dr. Nirmala Narasimhan (IRHS) is leading the Medical department as Principal Chief Medical Director, SCR.
For the first time in the history of South Central Railway, these five crucial departments of the zone are being led by all women officers. These departments, known for their complexity and demanding nature, require exceptional leadership, decision-making and coordination to ensure the smooth operation of services, the safety & security of passengers, and the well-being of employees. Despite the challenges inherent in these high-pressure roles, these women officers are handling every aspect with utmost efficiency, setting a powerful example of excellence.
Ms. K. Padmaja (IRTS – 1991 batch) assumed charge as Principal Chief Operations Manager, SCR in January, 2025. Before assuming charge, she was looking after both Commercial and Operations wing of the Zone. As the PCOM, she plays a crucial role in planning train operations and ensuring safe, efficient and punctual movement of passenger and freight trains across the zone. The department manages scheduling and timetabling of trains, traffic management, co-ordination with other departments to addressing infra and rolling stock requirements, monitoring train operations and punctuality performance etc. During the current financial year (2025-26) until July, the zone has achieved a whopping 49 Million Tonnes in Freight loading generating freight revenue of Rs. 4,601 crores. The zone has also operated 1,117 special train services to facilitate the passengers during holiday season during the current year.
Mrs. Ity Pandey (IRTS - 1998 batch) has assumed charge as the PCCM (Principal Chief Commercial Manager), South Central Railway earlier in this month i.e., 2nd August 2025. As the head of the Commercial department, she supervises the effective management of passenger and freight services ensuring customer satisfaction and revenue generation. The Commercial department manages passenger services such as ticketing, reservations, customer assistance, freight services, station management, advertising, non-fare revenue, marketing & business development, revenue generation etc. Before taking charge as Principal Chief Commercial Manager, SCR, Mrs. Ity Pandey served as Divisional Railway Manager, Bhusawal Division, Chief Commercial Manager (Passenger Services) at the Central Railway Headquarters apart from various significant posts in Central and Western Railways. She has been honoured with General Managers Award (twice), Ministry of Railways Award for excellence and Meritorious Services 2007 and Women Achievers Award 2016. She has been honoured with Rail Mantri Rajbhasha Rajat Padak in June 2025. As Chief Commercial Manager (Freight), she wrote a Book named ‘Riding the Freight Train’, a comprehensive overview of Freight Operations over Western Railway. She has been recognized amongst the 24 Bureaucrat Change-makers of 2024 in the Bureaucrats Annual List 2024. She is a Marathon Runner and the only lady Civil Servant to complete the Comrades Marathon in South Africa in 2023 and completed a grueling 88-kilometer distance in 11 hours and 47 minutes.
Ms. Aroma Singh Thakur (IRPFS – 1993 batch) assumed charge as Inspector General – cum – Principal Chief Security Commissioner (IG-cum-PCSC), SCR in July, 2023. She heads the Railway Protection Force of the zone which is primarily responsible for the safety and security of Rail passengers and Railway property. The role of RPF also includes Prevention of crime and investigation, disaster response, crowd management, surveillance & monitoring, assistance to passengers, co-ordination with local authorities especially during emergencies. Under the leadership of PCSC, Security wing is leveraging advanced technologies and data analytics to enhance monitoring capabilities and improve response time. She played a key role in undertaking various initiatives on a large scale across the zone such as Operation Yatri Suraksha, Operation Amanat, Operation Nanhe Farishte, Operation Satark etc., to safeguard the lives of passengers and Railway property. Specialized units like Women Shakti Teams, Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs), Disaster management, Meri Saheli teams were also introduced for enhancing the women security.
Dr. Nirmala Narasimhan (IRHS – 1989 batch) has assumed charge as Principal Chief Medical Director in December, 2024. As the in-charge of medical department she plays a vital role in ensuring the best healthcare services to employees, their families, and, in emergencies to passengers. SCR zone has a total of 8 major hospitals including, one 380 bedded Central Railway Hospital at Lallaguda; Divisional Hospitals at Vijayawada, Guntakal, Nanded & Guntur; Sub-Divisional hospitals at Tirupati, Rayanapadu & Purna. The zone has a total of 40 Health Units at workplaces, Railway colonies across the six divisions (i.e., Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guntur, Guntakal & Nanded) to provide immediate health-care services to employees. The key responsibilities of the department include employee healthcare, emergency medical assistance to passengers, hygiene & sanitation etc. During the current year, medical infrastructure of the zone has been further improved by installing 64 slices CT scan machine and in-house cardiac Cath Lab in Lallaguda Central Hospital.
Smt. T. Hema Suneetha (IRAS - 1993 batch) took charge as the Principal Financial Advisor, South Central Railway in April, 2025. As the in charge of Accounts department, she plays a vital role in ensuring the good financial position of the Zone. She was trained in International Financial Management at European Business School, London and Paris where she gained expertise in Public Private Partnership, Accrual Accounting, International Tax Laws etc. As part of Advanced Management Programme, she underwent training at ICLIF/INSEAD in Malaysia and Singapore. Before assuming charge as Principal Financial Advisor, she was working as Financial Advisor & Chief Accounts Officer/Traffic & Capex Management, South Central Railway from May 2023. The Apportioned revenue of the Zone has shown a significant jump during April to July, in the current financial year. Gross Traffic receipts of apportioned revenue which comprises of passenger freight, sundry earnings etc., is registered at Rs 8,081 Crore as against Rs 7,813 Crore during the last year in the same period, which shows increase of 3% .
Shri Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, General Manager, SCR expressed his happiness that for the first time, five departments are being headed by dynamic women officers of the zone. He stated that this is a testament to the proficiency of these officers and the growing strength of women in different fields. He said that South Central Railway has been at the forefront in promoting women empowerment by undertaking various initiatives to improve the participation of women. The role of these women officers as Principal Heads of various Departments will inspire more women to reach to new heights of success, he added.
