Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco driver of Asia, will drive the Vande Bharat Express from Solapur to CSMT starting Monday. She was felicitated by fellow train drivers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus for this achievement.
"Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco pilot notched another feather in Central Railway’s cap by becoming the the first woman Vande Bharat Express loco pilot when she piloted the Solapur-CSMT Vande Bharat Express train on 13th March 2023," said an officer of CR, adding that it was a proud movement for Indian Railways.
Surekha Yadav became the first women loco pilot to drive Vande Bharat express | Sourced Photo
"She was thankful for giving her the opportunity to pilot the new age, state of the art technology Vande Bharat Train. The train departed Solapur at right time and reached CSMT 5 minutes before time. The crew learning process involves signal observance, hands on new equipments, co-ordination with other crew members, observance of all parameters for running of a train," CR officials further added.
Who is Surekha Yadav?
Hailing from Satara in Maharashtra, she (Surekha Yadav) became India's first female train driver in 1988. For her achievements, she's been honoured with many awards at State and National level.
Surekha Yadav became loco pilot in 1988 |
Yadav pursued a diploma in electrical engineering before joining the central Railway. When asked about the first experience of driving state of art Vande Bharat train, she said, " Vande bharat is a semi high speed train , equipped with advance technology, hence, needs more alertness as compared to the traditional trains."
Before the deployment on Vande Bharat train as a driver, she completed a training schedule at the railway institute Vadodara in February 2023.
Surekha is considered one of the most skillful train driver of CR |
Though Surekha is considered one of the most skillful train driver of CR, it is interesting to note that she has not tried her hand at driving car or a two-wheeler.
When asked about this, she said, "I am sure that I can do all things which men can do but so far have not tried my hand at driving a car or a bike because I don’t need to do it."
