New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday named Jaya Verma Sinha as the next CEO and Chairperson of the Railway Board, the Ministry of Railways said on Thursday.

Sinha’s appointment makes her the first woman to hold the top position in the Ministry of Railways' history of more than 100 years.

She will replace Anil Kumar Lahoti and assume charge on September 1, according to the ministry.

The top Indian Railway executive is an alumnus of Allahabad University and joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) in 1988.

She worked in three railway zones: 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 & Business Development), Railway Board to the post of Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Railway Board," a government statement read.

Sinha is scheduled to superannuate on August 31, 2024, but has been reemployed on the same day for another year. She will now retire in 2024, said the statement.

She was the public face of the Indian Railways after the tragic accident in Odisha’s Balasore in which 300 people were killed, explaining the complex signalling system.

She played a leading role in the launch of the Maitree Express, a train service between Kolkata and Dhaka during her four-year tenure as Railway Advisor in the High Commission of India in Dhaka, Bangladesh.