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Meet The First Woman Loco Pilot Of Vande Bharat Express, Surekha Yadav, Who Covered Sol-Mum In 6.35 Hrs!

by Shreya Rathod
Meet The First Woman Loco Pilot Of Vande Bharat Express, Surekha Yadav, Who Covered Sol-Mum In 6.35 Hrs!

In the history of India, several women added their names to the list of ‘the first’. Like the first woman to become the President of India — Pratibha Patil, the first IPS Officer of India — Kiran Bedi, the first Prime Minister of India — Indira Gandhi, female judge — M. Fathima Beev, and so on. In this world built by men, women are showing the courage to take the reign in their hands. One such name is Surekha Yadav — India’s first woman train driver and now, the first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat. Take a look at what Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has tweeted about her.

Vande Bharat’s First Woman Loco Pilot, Surekha Yadav

The new generation of Indian Railways called the ‘Vande Bharat Express’ is gearing up to become a preferable mode of transport for long distances. Among the many express trains, the CSMT (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) to Solapur Vande Bharat Express was felicitated on Monday from platform number eight of CSMT. And Surekha Yadav became Asia’s first woman loco pilot. She expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to pilot the Vande Bharat Express. As for the rest of the crew, they are learning to become acquainted with the new technologies and coordinating with the other crew members.

Also Read: Mumbai-Goa Get A Vande Bharat Express, Indian Railways Plans To Launch One Soon

The Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took to Twitter to introduce her as the first woman loco pilot to operate the Vande Bharat Express. And captioned the tweet with ‘Vande Bharat powered by Nari Shakti’.

The First Woman Train Driver In India

Surekha Yadav made history by becoming the first woman train driver in India. Born in Satara, she drove the first ‘Ladies Special’ local train for the Central Government. And then, she became Asia’s first woman loco pilot to drive the Deccan Queen in 2011. She was the first one to challenge the phrase “women don’t drive railway engines”. Moreover, she has been awarded by Jijau Puraskar in 1998, the Prerna Puraskar in 2005, the Sahyadri Hirkani Award in 2004, the RWCC Best Women Award Of The Year 2013 and the GM Award for first lady loco pilot.

Also Read: Mumbai To Pune Vande Bharat Express: Ticket Prices, Menu Items, And More

In fact, she covered Solapur to Mumbai distance (455 km) in mere six hours and thirty-five minutes on Monday!

Cover Image Courtesy: Ashwini Vaishnaw/ Twitter