Indian Railways: PM Modi Praises First-Ever Woman Vande Bharat Express Pilot Surekha Yadav

Surekha Yadav, the first-ever woman pilot of the fastest train in the country - Vande Bharat Express, receives praise from PM Modi.

Image source: Twitter

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded the first woman loco pilot who ran the Vande Bharat Express train, calling the feat as an assurance of realisation of Amrit Kaal. "This is the confidence of the new India`s women`s power! The achievements that women are making today in every field of life, give confidence that the country`s aspirations will be realized in Amrit Kaal," PM said replying to the tweet by Union Minister, Raosaheb Patil Danve. Surekha Yadav, a native of Satara district in western Maharashtra, piloted the Vande Bharat Express train between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai on March 13, becoming the first women loco pilot in Asia to run Vande Bharat train.

यह नए भारत की नारीशक्ति का आत्मविश्वास है! जीवन के हर क्षेत्र में आज महिलाएं जिन उपलब्धियों को अपने नाम दर्ज करा रही हैं, वो अमृतकाल में देश के संकल्पों के साकार होने का विश्वास दिलाती हैं। https://t.co/cyFvpubnsl

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 15, 2023

She further said that she became India`s first female train driver in 1988, and was awarded for her achievements at State and National levels. “Yadav notched another feather in Central Railway`s cap by becoming the first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express," the Central Railway said on Tuesday. Piloted by Yadav, the Vande Bharat Express departed Solapur at the right time and reached CSMT five minutes before time.

Yadav started her career as an assistant driver in 1989 and worked her way up to become a goods driver in 1996. Her next destination was that of motor woman in 2000. In 2010, she graduated to a ghat driver, after which she was allotted duty on the Deccan Queen, which runs between the city and Pune, negotiating the steep inclines of the ghat in between.

Sharing her news on Twitter, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw yesterday said, Vande Bharat "powered by Nari Shakti." Vande Bharat express was started in 2019. The first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off on New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route. Last February, Prime Minister Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat Express train from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) Solapur.