Surekha Yadav, Asia's First Woman Loco Pilot Operates Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express: Watch Video

The Indian Railways is one of the most busiest and dense railway networks in the world. This makes the Indian Railways world's largest government employer, having lakh of employees on its payroll. Among these are many train drivers, called loco pilots, who are given duty to run the trains, carrying millions of passengers in a day. These loco pilots are mostly males, with only a handful of females working in this line of work. However, this gender stereotype was broken in 1988, when Surekha Yadav became the India's first female train driver.

Hailing from Satara in the western Maharashtra region, Yadav won many awards at the state and national levels so far for her achievements. Not only this, Surekha Yadav is also the Asia's first woman loco pilot. Now, Yadav has added another feather to her cap as she became the first female to operate the newly-introduced semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express train, the Central Railway said.

Salute to #Narishakti!

Smt. Surekha Yadav, Loco Pilot cruising the first female driven Vande Bharat train from CSMT, Mumbai to Solapur through the steepest Bhor Ghat between Mumbai & Pune in Maharashtra. pic.twitter.com/WWKiUIXYrx — Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) March 15, 2023

As reported on PTI, she piloted the semi-high speed train between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai on March 13, 2023. The train departed Solapur station at right time on March 13 and reached CSMT five minutes before the scheduled arrival, a Central Railway release said, adding that on 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".

Vande Bharat - powered by Nari Shakti.

Smt. Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express. pic.twitter.com/MqVjpgm4EO

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 13, 2023

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.