South Central Railway's 'Pink Patrol' drones

South Central Railway’s Hyderabad Division has started using drones over Hyderabad’s suburban rail network as part of a women-focused Railway Protection Force patrol. (thehindu.com) The Railway Protection Force launched the program, called “Pink Patrol,” on April 16, 2026 for Multi Modal Transport System trains in Hyderabad. Officials said it is the first such Indian Railways deployment to combine women-led drone surveillance with rapid-response policing on suburban services. (thehindu.com) The drones carry thermal imaging, night-vision optics, high-definition live video, long-range zoom and stabilised cameras for tracking moving trains. South Central Railway said the operators are women Railway Protection Force personnel with Directorate General of Civil Aviation-approved remote pilot licences. (hyderabadmail.com) MMTS is Hyderabad’s suburban rail system, and South Central Railway said in a 2022 release that it was then running 86 services across a 50-km network covering 29 stations. Railway officials said those short trips, dense crowds and quick train turnarounds make station-side patrols harder to use on their own. (scr.indianrailways.gov.in, thehindu.com) The railway already runs My Saheli on long-distance trains, where Railway Protection Force staff focus on women passengers, and Pink Patrol extends that safety push to the city network. The Hyderabad division also linked the drone patrol to its “Shakti Saathi” WhatsApp line so women commuters can report trouble directly to Railway Protection Force control rooms. (thehindu.com, hyderabadmail.com) A drone in this setting works like a flying CCTV camera with a pilot and a live feed, which shifts some safety decisions from fixed cameras and platform patrols to remote operators. Railway officials said the aircraft are meant to act as “aerial first responders,” spot blind zones and deter harassment or trespass before ground teams arrive. (thehindu.com) That also puts the program inside India’s aviation and data rules. Civil drone operations are governed by the Drone Rules, 2021, and India’s Digital Personal Data Protection framework was fully operationalised when the government notified the DPDP Rules on November 14, 2025. (civilaviation.gov.in, pib.gov.in) The open questions are practical ones: who reviews footage, how long video is kept, when a drone alert becomes a ground intervention, and who is accountable if an operator misses an incident. South Central Railway has said it plans to add more drones across the MMTS network, which will make those operating rules more important than the launch itself. (hyderabadmail.com, indiacode.nic.in)