On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off six new routes of Vande Bharat Express. He, however, personally inaugurated the Tatanagar-Patna Vande Bharat Express. What was special about this train was that it was the first time a tribal woman was in charge of a Vande Bharat Express as an assistant loco-pilot. That’s not all, it was also the first time that an all-tribal driver-crew operated the train. Read on to know more about this.
Two Tribal Loco Drivers Operate Vande Bharat Express Express
27-year-old Ritika Tirkey made history on Sunday for being the first tribal woman in the country to operate Vande Bharat Express as an assistant loco-pilot. Hailing from a tribal community of Jharkhand, Ritika firmly believes that Indian women can achieve all their goals if they try hard enough and are passionate about it.
According to The Statesman, there was an all-tribal crew inside the driver’s cabin of the first Tatanagar-Patna Vande Bharat Express. Ritika was assisting loco pilot S S Munda, another tribal locomotive driver from Jharkhand. This was the first time an all-tribal crew took over the operations of a Vande Bharat Express train.
Now being hailed as a trailblazer, railway officials believe that Ritika will inspire thousands of women in India to take up careers in the railways, especially in the tribal communities.
Six New Vande Bharat Trains Flagged Off
On Sunday PM Narendra Modi virtually flagged off six Vande Bharat trains. These trains will be operational in Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. The virtual inauguration took place from Jamshedpur’s Tatanagar. The six new Vande Bharat routes include Tatanagar-Patna, Brahmapur-Tatanagar, Rourkela-Howrah, Deoghar-Varanasi, Bhagalpur-Howrah, and Gaya-Howrah.
Besides these trains, the PM also launched the first Vande Metro service in Gujarat on September 16. This Vande Bharat Metro service is being launched between Bhuj and Ahmedabad. Covering a distance of 360 kilometres in 5 hours and 45 minutes, this metro Vande Bharat will run at the top speed of 110 kmph.
Also Read: Days Before Its Launch, 3 Windows Of Vande Bharat Express Durg-Visakhapatnam Broken By Stone Pelters
It is heartening to see the infrastructural growth of India and the growing women’s participation in it!
Cover Image Courtesy: Wikimedia
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