Surekha Yadav becomes first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express

Surekha Yadav

Surekha Yadav -- the first woman loco pilot of Asia -- pilots the Vande Bharat Express from Solapur to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Monday.

Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco pilot notched another feather in Central Railway's cap by becoming the first woman Vande Bharat Express loco pilot as she piloted the Solapur-CSMT Vande Bharat Express train.

Surekha Yadav was felicitated at the platform number 8 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

"She was thankful for giving her the opportunity to pilot the new age, state of the art technology Vande Bharat Train," read a press release by Central Railway.

The release further stated: "The train departed Solapur at right time and reached CSMT 5 minutes before time. The crew learning process involves signal observance, hands on new equipment, co-ordination with other crew members, observance of all parameters for running of a train."

Also read: De-launching of Gokhale Bridge girders successfully completed: Western Railway

Ashwini Vaishnaw -- Minister of Railways -- took it to twitter to introduce Surekha. "Smt. Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express," he tweeted.

Hailing from Satara in Maharashtra, Surekha became India's first female train driver in 1988 and for her achievements, she has been honoured with many awards at state and national level.