Beginning in March of 2020, women will be able to train as drivers for the Moscow metro system. Vice Mayor Maxim Liksutov announced the change on September 10, saying new trainees have been eager to sign up since registration for the March training group opened.
According to the wire service TASS, Liksutov explained that the first female train drivers will begin working in the metro system on January 1, 2021. “Train drivers do not perform any particularly heavy labor. If women can fly airplanes, they’ll be able to drive trains,” he said.
The change follows the Russian Labor Ministry’s August decision to modify the list of professions labeled in Russia as too dangerous for women, cutting it to less than a quarter of its previous size. The new list is set to take effect on January 1, 2021.