Asia’s First Woman Loco-Pilot Bids Adieu

Surekha Yadav, India’s (and Asia’s) first woman locomotive pilot in 1988.

Transcript

00:00That's Surekha Yadav, India's and Asia's first woman train driver.

00:04But she is more than just a driver.

00:06She is proof.

00:07Proof that a girl can tame heavy wheels, glide through guard sections,

00:11steer past doubt and break every old cannot do.

00:20In 1988, when people said women don't drive railway engines,

00:24Yadav, then 23 years old, became India's and Asia's first female locomotor,

00:29shattering that belief.

00:31Born in Satara, Maharashtra, in 1965, her early life was no different.

00:35Daughter of a farmer with parents who supported her education,

00:38she did vocational training and earned a diploma in electrical engineering.

00:41Rare for girls in her community then.

00:43In 1988, she joined Indian Railways as a trainee assistant driver.

00:47By 1989, she was a full assistant driver.

00:50She drove goods trains by 1996,

00:52became a motor woman suburban trains in 2000,

00:55handled ghar routes in 2010,

00:57drove the iconic Deccan Queen in 2011

00:59and in 2023, made history as the first woman

01:02to pilot the semi-high-speed Bande Bharat Express.

01:12Since 1989,

01:13Surekha Yadav has been shattering gender stereotypes,

01:16creating history in a field that was overwhelmingly male.

01:19In 1988,

01:21less than 0.2% of Indian railways trained drivers were women.

01:24Amidst this, Surekha Yadav dared to take the seat.

01:27She is now set to retire on September 38, 2025,

01:30after 36 years of service in Indian railways.