Ajmer girl becomes first woman to drive metro train

As a little girl Shail Mishra of Bihariganj locality here got fascinated on seeing trains running near her place and dreamed of driving the locomotive some day. She now drives metro train in New Delhi at 120 km per hour and feels honored to be the first woman loco pilot from the state and Delhi.

"I made my dream come true," said Shail. Driving trains and metros is still a man's domain where women rarely enter. "It's the speed and control that matters," added Shail.

"Usually when trains passed through my locality, I was enthralled by their speed and sound, I told my father about my wish to be an engine driver but he declined as women were not allowed to enter the field," said Shail.

At present Shail is working as a station controller and train operator. She was only 23 years old when she first drove the engine on metal tracks. "When I took over the control panel of metro in New Delhi, passengers were keen to see me. There were talks about how could a woman drive the engine and that, too, at 120 km per hour," added Shail.

She said that when she applied for metro service in New Delhi, the authorities were surprised to receive an application from a woman for the first time, "I was selected but was unable to get much training to run the metro," Shail said. She added that since metro was being run for the first time and the trainers themselves were clueless about it. It was her dream to sit in the main control engine and run the train. "I passed the exam in the first attempt and got the control in my hand," laughed Shail.

She took chief minister of New Delhi Sheila Dixit on a drive to the airport, "That was a great day for me," she revealed. During her duty hours, many curious women come to see her driving the metro and congratulate her for breaking a new path for woman, "I feel proud that I am giving a message of woman empowerment," added Shail.

Shailendra Mishra, a retired railway officer, is proud to see her daughter running the fastest train in the country, "We had never thought that my daughter will give men competition by running metal giants," Mishra said. After completing her education from a government school, she did her electronic engineering from Ajmer and went for some private jobs, "And then I saw an advertisement of New Delhi metro corporation and thought that god was helping me to fulfill my dream," she concluded.