CHENNAI: Another railway job has been added to the gender-neutral list. Women have already served as goods guards and loco pilots with the Southern Railway.
Now they are taking up maintenance of train coaches, another male bastion.The Mangaluru Express, one of the trains with high passenger demand, has become the first train in the zone to be fully maintained by a dedicated women crew.
Y K Geetha, the first woman senior section engineer of the Chennai division, has emerged as an inspiration to women aspirants of railway jobs.
Led by Geetha, a team of 24 women comprising technicians and helpers have been carrying out the maintenance of two LHB rakes (43 coaches) of the Chennai-Mangaluru Express at the Basin Bridge yard here for the past 12 months.
A graduate in Commerce, Geetha began her career with the Southern Railway as a technician in 2002 at Basin Bridge yard. She later became a junior engineer in 2015 and got promoted as a senior section engineer in 2016.
“Initially, I was a little bit reluctant to enter into the pit to inspect the coaches as a technician. But later, I got used to it with the help of colleagues,” she said.
The works involve pit line maintenance, brake inspection and checking the air pressure of coaches. In addition, each and every wheel of the coach had to be inspected and the interior portion of the train cleaned to ensure that passengers have a comfortable travel.
On breaking the gender barrier, Geetha said the only challenge her crew initially faced was that they had to lift the heavy iron objects as part of duty.
“Inspection of air brakes is crucial. We inspect each and every wheel of coach before sending the rake for operating the train. The safety of train passengers is of utmost priority,” she said.
The zero complaints over maintenance of coaches of the Chennai-Mangaluru Express train bear testimony to the efficiency and dedication of the women crew.The Basin Bridge yard has 1,500 workers, of which 300 are women workers of all categories.