THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mechanical repair has traditionally been a male-dominant field. From trains to motorbikes, the mechanical side is entirely handled by male mechanics. Failure to explain the nature of technical problems to women is a common complaint. A 15-member team of women, including 58-year-old Sabhia Biwi, has been handling the mechanical maintenance of Vanchinad Express for the past two and a half years in Thiruvananthapuram railway station. It is the only train in the state whose mechanical maintenance is completely handled by women.
The team is even supervised by a female junior engineer. The other staffs are recruited under the group D category whose qualification is Class VIII. But many among them are well qualified with different degrees. “The staffs here are assigned the mechanical trip schedule task. They need to check and tighten the nuts and bolts of all 24 coaches as part of the trip schedule. They have to ensure 100 per cent brake power in the train. The carpentry work is also handled by them,” said Muralidharan, senior section engineer (carriage and wagon).
“At first, we joined with the male staff and it was hard to handle this section. But after getting proper training, we are now handling it all alone for the past two and a half years. Just two more years are left for me to retire. Though sometimes we face some difficulties, including physical stress, it has never affected the operation of the train,” said Sabhia Biwi.
The train’s running gear and other safety concerns are handled by my team, said V M Sreekala, supervisor. “Though many incidents have been registered here, which are common during the mechanical checkup of the trains, till date not even a single member in my team got hurt. I always allow them extra time to complete their task slowly and safely,” she said.