Who Is Shikha Rathore: 31-year-old Shikha Rathore is the first woman driver to co-pilot a passenger train from Ahmedabad to Rajkot. She scripted history on October 9 when she boarded the engine of the 06614 Coimbatore Rajkot Special Train as the Assistant Loco Pilot with her colleague Loco Pilot Pradeep Kumar J. She made the return journey as well.

Here’s what you need to know about Shikha Rathore

1. She hails from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.
2. Before turning to driving a passenger train, she used to drive cargo trains.
3. It was her dream to co-pilot a passenger train.
4. “I am incredibly happy that I have finally done what I set out to do. But I have no plans to stop. I have now set the bar higher and aim to drive an express/mail train as a Loco Pilot and will work in that direction,” she said in an interview.
5. She had a difficult journey getting into the railways. She had applied for a job in 2009 but there weren’t many female loco pilots at that time and so her family discouraged her to pursue it. She took the job in 2012. She was posted to Ahmedabad after that and then it took her five more years to materialise her dream.
6. Ahmedabad Divisional Railway Manager Tarun Jain is elated at her achievement. He said in an interview, “We are very proud of Shikha Rathore who became the first female assistant loco pilot to drive a passenger train.”