NEW DELHI, Mar 14: Asia’s first woman locomotive pilot Surekha Yadav has also become the first woman pilot to drive the semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express.
She achieved the new laurel on Monday operating the Vande Bharat Express on the 450-kilometre long Sholapur – Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminal (CSMT), Mumbai, route, in Maharashtra.
“The train had departed from the Sholapur station at right time and reached its destination, which is Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminal (CSMT), five minutes before its due time, completing the more than 450 km long journey,” said the central railway press release.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw wrote on Twitter, “Vande Bharat train powered by Nari Shakti, Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat express.”
This was not the first time Surekha Yadav has set a record. A native of Satara in western Maharashtra, Surekha Yadav had become the first woman train driver way back in 1988. On the occasion of the International Women’s Day on March 8, this year, Surekha Yadav had driven an all-women staffed special train from Mumbai to Lucknow.
(Ashwini Sali)
