Jaya Verma Sinha becomes first woman to head Railway Board

New Delhi, August 31

The Centre today appointed Jaya Verma Sinha as the CEO and Chairperson of the Railway Board making her the first woman to ever hold that post in the Railways Board’s over a century old history.

Sinha will succeed Anil Kumar Lahoti and assume charge on September 1 at the earliest. Her tenure will end on August 31, 2024. Sinha is scheduled to retire on October 1 but will be re-employed on the same day for the remainder of her tenure.

Sinha, an alumnus of Allahabad University, joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) in 1986 and worked in three railway zones, namely Northern Railway, South Eastern Railway and Eastern Railway.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Jaya Verma Sinha, Indian Railway Management Services (IRMS), Member (Operations and Business Development), Railway Board to the post of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Railway Board,” the government order issued today said.

Sinha played a key role in the restoration and relief works in the wake of the Balasore accident that killed nearly 300 people in Odisha. She was the first high-ranking railway official to say that “signal interference” had led to the accident.

The Maitree Express, a train service that connects Kolkata and Dhaka, was inaugurated when she was posted as Railway Adviser in the High Commission of India in Dhaka.