Vande Bharat Powered by Nari Shakti: Meet Asia's First Woman Loco Pilot Who Operates India’s Fastest Train

Surekha Yadav became the first woman to operate India’s state-of-the-art semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express train.

Yadav, who is Asia’s first woman loco pilot, operated the train between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai on March 13.

The train departed Solapur station at right time on March 13 and reached CSMT five minutes before the scheduled arrival, the Central Railway said.

When the train reached Solapur after the completion of a more than 450-km long journey, Yadav was felicitated at platform number 8 at CSMT.

“Vande Bharat – powered by Nari Shakti. Smt. Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express,” Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav tweeted.

The Central Railway said, “Yadav notched another feather in Central Railway’s cap by becoming the first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express”.

Who is Surekha Yadav?

Yadav hails from Satara in the western Maharashtra region. She became India’s first female train driver in 1988. She had won many awards at the state and national levels so far for her achievements.

Yadav expressed gratitude for being given the chance to operate the Vande Bharat Train. “She was thankful for giving her the opportunity to pilot the new age, state-of-the-art technology Vande Bharat Train,” said Central Railways.

She also operated the Mumbai-Pune Deccan Queen Express on International Women’s Day (8 March) with all-women crews.

The Central Railway has launched two Vande Bharat Express trains on CSMT-Solapur and CSMT-Sainagar Shirdi routes, which were shown green flags by Prime minister Narendra Modi on February 10, 2023.

According to railway officials, loco piloting on new routes involves comprehensive learning and the crew has to remain vigilant at every moment during the train journey.

“The crew learning process involves signal observance, hands-on new equipment, coordination with other crew members, observance of all parameters for running of a train,” the release stated.

(With PTI inputs)

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