Asia’s first woman Locomotive Pilot Surekha Yadav adds another feature to her cap; she becomes the first female to operate the newly introduced semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express train.

She earned praise from Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Sharing her news on Twitter, Railway Minister Vaishnaw said, Vande Bharat, “powered by Nari Shakti”.

Surekha Yadav piloted the Vande Bharat Express between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai. Notably, Yadav became India’s first female train driver in 1988.

A press release by Central Railway stated, “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 the right time and reached CSMT 5 minutes before time. The crew learning process involves signal observance, hands-on new equipment, coordination with other crew members, observance of all parameters for running of a train.”