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Trains on the Moscow's famous Metro subway system will now be driven by women, after a decades-long ban on female drivers was overturned, CNN reports.

The first of a new generation of women drivers started work on Sunday, according to a statement from the Moscow Department of Transportation.

Russia's Ministry of Labor ordered that women be allowed to drive trains on the network a year ago, and now the first cohort have successfully completed a training program and entered the workforce. Of the 25 women who started the course, 12 completed it and will become drivers, according to the department.

"Next year, at least 50 new employees will join the ranks of our female drivers," the statement said. "We are very proud that Moscow transport is a territory that is accessible to people regardless of gender!"

The new drivers will work on the Filevskaya line, one of the most modern on the Metro network.

Women were allowed to drive trains on the network from 1936, but a ban on hiring new female drivers was introduced in the early 1980s, according to the Moscow Mayor's office.

"This was explained by the protection of women from tough burdens of the job and unfavorable work conditions," it said.

Some 36% of the Moscow Metro's total workforce of 62,000 employees is female, according to the statement.