Speaking about the opportunity she got to drive the Vande Baharat Express, Surekha Yadav, the woman pilot says, “I am thankful for the opportunity to pilot the new age, state-of-the-art technology Vande Bharat train. The train departed Solapur at the right time and reached CSMT five minutes before time.” She will take it from Mumbai to Solapur today

Hailing from Satara district in Maharashtra, Surekha Yadav became the country’s first female train driver in 1988. Yadav has been honoured with many awards at the state and national levels in the past

As per available records, Surekha Yadav was selected by the Railway Recruitment Board, Mumbai, in 1987. Yadav joined the Central Railway (CR) as an trainee assistant driver in 1986 at the Kalyan Training School where she was trained for six months. To drive Vande Bharat Express, Yadav underwent intensive training for the route for one month. 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

Read More: Mumbai: Asia’s first woman loco pilot drives Vande Bharat Express

Officials said she became a regular assistant driver in 1989. Yadav is now also an instructor for loco pilots and trains new drivers. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, introduced Surekha on Twitter by tweeting, "Smt. Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express"

Yadav was felicitated at platform number 8 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on Monday. The release from Central Railway, 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"