MUMBAI: Central Railway has decided to celebrate Women’s Day by deputing women staff to pilot a suburban train. The guard of the train will also be a woman. A CR official said, “We have decided to depute women staff on a special train on the Harbour line between CST and Panvel on Wednesday. For the first time, the guard and the the pilot, both will be women.”
The train is likely to be piloted by Surekha Yadav, who is billed as Asia’s first loco pilot. Yadav started her career as an assistant diver in 1989 and worked her way up to become a goods driver in 1996, and before becoming a motorwoman in 2000
Shweta Gone is likely to be the guard of the train. Gone become the first woman to be appointed as a train guard on the Central Railway’s Mumbai division in 2015. Gone stood first in the training conducted for guards.
Another CR official said, “This act, though symbolic, will send a strong message to citizens that women are able to undertake any task.”