Women's Day Special: Meet Surekha Yadav, India's first female loco pilot and an inspiration to all

Women in India are touching new heights in every field today. Their contribution is giving more momentum to the progress of the country. International Women's Day is celebrated every year on March 8, and on this special occasion, we are talking about India's first female train driver or loco pilot, Surekha Yadav. By fulfilling her dreams, she has set an example for women not only in India but all over the world.
Surekha Yadav: Asia's first female loco pilot
Surekha Shankar Yadav, also known as Surekha Ramchandra Bhosale, became India's first female loco pilot in the year 1988. With this, she has also got the distinction of being Asia's first female loco pilot. In 1989, she drove the train for the first time and created history. There were no female drivers in the Indian Railways before her arrival. Her move proved that women can walk shoulder to shoulder with men in any field.
Early life of Surekha Yadav
Surekha Yadav was born on 2 September 1965 in Maharashtra. She received her early education from St. Paul Convent High School in Satara, the state. For further studies, Surekha did a vocational training course and later obtained a diploma in electrical engineering.
Surekha's dream
During her studies, Surekha, like other girls, used to dream about her career and future. In those days, she wanted to become a teacher, not a loco driver. She had planned to obtain a B.Ed degree to become a teacher. However, later she changed her path and joined the railways.
Surekha's job in the railways
Surekha had a technical background and was fond of trains since childhood. She filled out the form for the pilot. Her written examination was held in 1986; after passing she also cleared the interview. Later Surekha was appointed as an assistant driver in Kalyan Training School. After completing the training, Surekha Yadav was promoted to the post of regular assistant loco pilot in 1989.
Career in Indian Railways
Surekha first started her career as a freight train loco pilot. Gradually her driving skills improved. In the year 2000, she was promoted to the post of Motor Mahila. After that in the year 2011, Surekha became the pilot of Express Mail. With this, on the occasion of Women's Day, Surekha Yadav got the title of being Asia's first female train driver. Surekha has done train driving on the CST route from Pune's Deccan Queen, which is considered to be the most dangerous railway route.
First female loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express
She has held many important responsibilities in her excellent career. On 13 March 2023, she achieved another milestone by driving the Vande Bharat Express. She became the first female loco pilot to successfully drive the country's semi-high-speed train Vande Bharat from Solapur to Mumbai. The whole country felt proud of her achievement.
Surekha Yadav has been serving in the railways for the last 34 years. When she became the loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express, she described this achievement as very special and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She said, I was appointed in 1989 and I have been working in this field for the last 34 years. I got full support from my parents and in-laws in reaching this position. My father gave me a good education, due to which I could reach this height today.