Meet Surekha Yadav, Asia's first woman loco pilot who now operates Vande Bharat. 5 points

She expressed gratitude for being given the chance to operate the Vande Bharat Train. "She was thankful for giving her the opportunity to pilot the new age, state-of-the-art technology Vande Bharat Train. The train departed Solapur at right time and reached CSMT 5 minutes before time,” said the Central Railways.

Surekha Yadav, Asia's first woman loco pilot, has now become the first female to operate the newly-introduced semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express train, the Central Railways said. On Monday, she achieved the feat as she piloted the semi-high speed train between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai.

Surekha Yadav: first female loco pilot to operate Vande Bharat Express. (Twitter )

Here are five points to know about Surekha Yadav:

1. Surekha Yadav became India's first female train driver in 1988. Hailing from Satara in the western Maharashtra region, Yadav has won many awards at the state and national levels so far for her achievements.

2. She expressed gratitude for being given the chance to operate the Vande Bharat Train. "She was thankful for giving her the opportunity to pilot the new age, state-of-the-art technology Vande Bharat Train. The train departed Solapur at right time and reached CSMT 5 minutes before time,” said Central Railways.

3. Upon completion of a more than 450-km long journey, Yadav was felicitated at platform number 8 at CSMT, the railways added.

4. Earlier on International Women's Day (8 March), the Central Railways operated the prestigious Mumbai-Pune Deccan Queen Express and CSMT-Kalyan ladies' special local train with all-women crews. On that day, Yadav operated the Deccan Queen with Sayali Sawardekar as an assistant loco pilot.

5. Congratulating Yadav on her achievement, Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnav wrote on Monday, "Vande Bharat - powered by Nari Shakti. Smt. Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco pilot of Vande Bharat Express."

(With agency inputs)