Western Railway’s first motorwoman will soon drive a 15-car suburban train from Churchgate to Virar. Priti Kumari, 34, who stormed a male bastion when she took up the job in October 2010, is ecstatic. While 15-car trains already ply between Dadar and Virar, Priti will be driving it a much longer distance.
“I cannot express my happiness. This is a great opportunity and I am prepared to accept the challenge,” Kumari told DNA. She drove the 330-metre train flawlessly at 12.46pm on Friday. Six services will ply regularly from Saturday.
A mother of one, Kumari looked focused on her job. In October 2010, she was a bit puzzled over the brouhaha over her landing the motorperson’s job. “There are women who fly planes, then why such a hype for me. I am just driving a train?’’ she had said. This time, her reaction is similar.
Speaking of the train, Ravindra Nath Verma, general manager of Western Railways, said, “It was a historic step and we have showed that the long train could be brought to Churchgate without any problem.” Touted as the world’s longest suburban train, it would have an additional capacity of 66% over nine-car trains.
“The trains would be run on an experimental basis. These would halt at Dadar, Bandra, Andheri, Borivali, Mira Road, Bhayander, Vasai Road and Nalasopara stations,” chief spokesperson for the railways Sharat Chandrayan said.
To ease the dense traffic on suburban trains and to create more space for commuters, 15- car services were first introduced on the Dadar-Virar section on November 21, 2009.
