PM Modi lauds first woman loco pilot Surekha Yadav on Vande Bharat debut
2 min read 16 Mar 2023, 06:38 AM ISTSurekha Yadav, a native of Satara district in western Maharashtra, piloted the Vande Bharat Express train between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai on March 13, becoming the first women loco pilot in Asia to run Vande Bharat train.
PremiumSurekha Yadav, the first woman loco pilot who ran the Vande Bharat Express train was lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and calling the feat as an assurance of realization of Amrit Kaal.
"This is the confidence of the new India's women's power! The achievements that women are making today in every field of life, give confidence that the country's aspirations will be realized in Amrit Kaal," PM said replying to the tweet by Union Minister, Raosaheb Patil Danve.
"I would like to thank to our Indian railway's administration which gave me this opportunity. Feeling so happy that I got this opportunity after 34 years of my service in the Indian Railways," Surekha Yadav said while talking to ANI.
Surekha Yadav, a native of Satara district in western Maharashtra, piloted the Vande Bharat Express train between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai on March 13, becoming the first women loco pilot in Asia to run Vande Bharat train.
She further said that she became India's first female train driver in 1988, and was awarded for her achievements at State and National levels.
"Yadav notched another feather in Central Railway's cap by becoming the first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express," the Central Railway said on Tuesday.
Piloted by Yadav, the Vande Bharat Express departed Solapur at the right time and reached CSMT five minutes before time.
Yadav started her career as an assistant driver in 1989 and worked her way up to become a goods driver in 1996. Her next destination was that of motor woman in 2000.
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
In 2010, she graduated to a ghat driver, after which she was allotted duty on the Deccan Queen, which runs between the city and Pune, negotiating the steep inclines of the ghat in between.
Sharing her news on Twitter, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw yesterday said, Vande Bharat "powered by Nari Shakti."
Vande Bharat express was started in 2019. The first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off on New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route.
Last February, Prime Minister Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat Express train from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) Solapur.
