Berlin should introduce separate carriages for women on the Berlin subway to ensure they feel safe at all times. This was stated in "Bild" magazine. the deputy from the "Greens" in the local parliament, Antje Capek, quoted by DPA.
"This is a really great idea that I borrowed from Tokyo, where special compartments for women have been introduced in the evening hours,", Capek said.
"They have a protected space that allows them to travel on the underground trains even at rush hour without being groped or attacked," she said.
The evening rush hour, when trains are packed, can often be a very unpleasant experience for women, she said. The number of attacks on women at night has also increased, Capek added.
There is still no proposal to turn the ideas into legislation.
Capek's proposal comes after a rape in the Berlin subway in the spring, when a 33-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of harassing and then raping a woman in Berlin's Seellendorf district.
After the incident, he left the train and continued his journey by bus. The man was arrested a few weeks later after an investigation.
Berlin's public transport company (BVG) expressed its skepticism about the proposal and declared that the current preventive measures are adequate. "We make every effort to ensure that all passengers arrive safely at their destination and with a positive feeling,", commented the operator.
There are facilities at every metro stop for anyone who feels unwell or needs help to contact the transport operator's team. About 250 security personnel are on duty around the clock, as some stations also operate at night, the company said.