Women loco pilots on track to realise their dreams
BENGALURU: A much-needed move by the South Western Railway Zone to create separate washrooms and retiring rooms (Running Rooms) for women, coupled with encouragement, has resulted in the entry of 33 women Assistant Loco Pilots into the profession of steering trains in the last 19 months.
With these highly qualified women, along with three Loco Pilots, Bengaluru Division now has the biggest contingent of women train drivers in South India and also figures among the divisions with the highest number in the country.
In a bid to ensure safety and comfort for women, adequate facilities were put in place at Bengaluru City, Arasikere, Jolarpettai and Mysuru railway stations within the last one year, says V Ramachandran, Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer, Traction Operations, Bengaluru Division. The women were inducted in three batches beginning August 2019.
Minu Mubaraka C from Kerala is among the recruits who hesitantly took on the role. “I was keen on a government job after completing my M.Tech in Electrical and Communications. After I cleared the ALP exam, I was full of doubts when I understood the nature of the job. I had a 2.5-year old baby and my husband Mohammed Shareef was employed in Dubai. He encouraged me and gave me the confidence to take up the job and we decided to hire a nanny for our girl,” she said.
“Like in every job, there are challenges, that’s all. As a mother, you may have to do a bit of sacrifice by being away from your child when she goes to bed as we may have to spend our nights at different stations. But the job is not very difficult.” All facilities for women are provided and male colleagues are extremely supportive, she adds. V S Abhirami (25), a B.Tech graduate from Kerala who got her appointment order in January 2020, says, “This is my first job. My father was a technician in the Railways. I have gained so much in this job. The job is highly respected and it feels so nice when travellers come over and say ‘Thank You’ when we reach the destination.”
‘Women loco pilots very professional’
Riya Nag, from Dhanbad district in Jharkhand, decided very early in life to become a loco pilot and is a third-generation loco pilot in her family.
“My father is a loco pilot in East Central Railway. My grandfather too was one. So, my career was almost decided for me. As soon as I completed my Diploma in ECE, I took up the exams.”
Ramachandran said, “As the officer in charge of the team, I can say that women LPs and ALPs are much better than men, both technically and professionally. Barring legitimate concerns about safety, there is absolutely no problems from them on the work front.”