Central Railway bids a fond farewell to Asia’s first woman driver

Surekha Yadav, Asia's first woman train driver, retires after 36 years, celebrated for breaking barriers and inspiring women in Indian Railways.

MUMBAI: In her 36-year-long career, Surekha Yadav, loco pilot or train driver with Central Railway (CR), has manoeuvred every kind of train from goods trains to suburban locals, from regular long-distance trains to premium ones such as Rajdhani and Vande Bharat. The CR employee, who has the proud distinction of being Asia’s first woman train driver, will bid goodbye to her trailblazing job on September 30.

Central Railway bids a fond farewell to Asia’s first woman driver

On Thursday morning, Yadav was felicitated by her fellow train drivers, department staff and family members as she arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Train Number 22222, the Hazrat Nizamuddin-CSMT Rajdhani Express. “I boarded from Kalyan wearing my blue blazer,” she told Hindustan Times. “This could be the last time I will be inside a locomotive.”

At CSMT, Yadav’s family, friends and CR staff were waiting on Platform 18 where the train arrived and welcomed it with traditional dhols and tashas and deafening cheers and claps. The loco pilot was garlanded by one person after another even as women in colourful sarees and men broke into the traditional lavni dance on the platform. Later in the afternoon, Yadav arranged a lunch for her family members, colleagues and staff at the heritage dining hall on the ground floor of CSMT, the headquarters of Central Railway and a UNESCO world heritage site.

Although Yadav retires on September 30, the celebration was two weeks in advance owing to more retirement functions planned by the end of the month. “Today was the most unforgettable day of my life,” she said. “I still remember when I first got into Indian Railways as an assistant driver on a goods train. For someone who never intended to enter this profession, it has turned out to be extremely fulfilling.” Yadav hails from Satara and has a diploma in electrical engineering.

The loco pilot recalled that she had no plans to join the railways but attempted the written exams, vivas and interviews for a lark. “The next thing I knew was that within a few days, I got my appointment letter,” she said. “Even though the job was uncharted territory for women back then, my family has been very supportive. There were many challenges but I faced them and sailed through them all.”

Railway officials consider her a true trailblazer who broke barriers, inspired countless women and proved that no dream is beyond reach. Over a telephone conversation with Hindustan Times, Yadav agreed that three decades ago, being a train driver was unheard-of. She said she enjoyed the hectic job profile of being a woman train driver.

“Like any other job, the field work is a lot tougher,” she said. “There are no fixed timings, problems can crop up anytime during the run and one needs to be prepared to face them and adapt accordingly. But I also got to manoeuvre old locomotives and engines with basic technology to the latest versions, including the Vande Bharat trains. I am glad that since my joining the railways, the view that women cannot drive trains has changed. Today, there are many women who do this shoulder-to-shoulder with men and ferry thousands of passengers every day.”

Yadav, who is yet undecided about her post-retirement plans, is heading out of Mumbai on September 19 for a much-needed vacation. Rail officials said she would be back in the middle of the next week to complete the necessary documentation before signing the roster one last time. Yadav’s journey, they stressed, would forever remain a symbol of woman empowerment in Indian Railways.