Asia's first woman loco pilot thanks PM for bringing Vande Bharat

MUMBAI: Asia's first woman loco pilot Surekha Yadav on Thursday, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing the Vande Bharat Express to Mumbai.

"I was appointed in 1989. I've been working for 34 years. I got support from my parents and in-laws. My father provided me with good education because of this I'm here. I thank PM Modi for bringing Vande Bharat to Mumbai," Surekha Yadav told ANI.

Earlier, Yadav also thanked the Railway department for the opportunity.

She said, "I would like to thank our Indian railway's administration which gave me this opportunity. Feeling so happy that I got this opportunity after 34 years of my service in the Indian Railways."

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.

"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 a motor woman in 2000. In 2010, she graduated as 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, on Monday said that Vande Bharat was "powered by Nari Shakti."