Mumbai: Asia’s first woman locomotive pilot Surekha Yadav is all to retire after 36 years of service on September 30.
The first to bring about a revolution in driving a train, Surekha embarked on her new journey riding trains as the first loco pilot of not just India but Asia. She joined service in 1986 as a trainee assistant and was later recruited in 1989.
She shares, “I have been fortunate enough to be selected for this position by Indian Railways, and everyone has supported me. Everyone’s blessings were with me; that’s why my thirty-six-year journey has come to a successful conclusion and I’m retiring on September 30. I feel proud to be an Indian because the opportunities and space given to women in every field have brought us to where we are today.”
She trained in Kalyan and first piloted a goods train. Recalling her experience she shared, “Unlike a car or a bike there is no learning train available. One has to observe and learn on the job.”
She was then assigned to the Western Ghats route and also risked into the suburban network in Mumbai. She also instructed batches of next generation pilots for five years.
The Central Railways took to its X handle and shared the felicitation of Yadav by her fellow train drivers, staff and family as she arrived at Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Train number 22222 in the Hazrat Nizamuddin-CSMT Rajdhani Express.
She had piloted the new Vande Bharat Express from Solapur to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai in 2023.