Western Railway treads maiden territory in engine

After one of her runs at Churchgate station,Priti said,“I am having some difficulty applying the autobrakes. Otherwise everything is okay. I am enjoying this training on the tracks.”

Railway officials hope commuters will not vent their ire at motorwomen when services are stalled,as they usually do when a man is driving. On July 23,when a fast,12-car 10.53 am local didn’t halt at its earmarked place on platform no 2 of Malad station,many women commuters had to board the general compartment. An agitated woman was about to complain when another commuter informed her a woman was driving the train. This helped cool down tempers. Bhushan Singh of Malad said,“She is learning,petty mistakes may occur.”

After completing six months of training at the Mahalaxmi workshop,Priti is doing another six months under AK Das,a senior motorman.

Now,70 motormen are under line training. Their seniors are teaching them how to run trains on open tracks,apart from the technicalities.

The first batch of 45 will complete training in August,followed by two others of 15 and 10 in September and October.