When Bhupinder Kaur steps into the engine cab, she is not just operating a locomotive — she is challenging an entire tradition that has long kept women away from the driver’s seat of India’s trains. Punjab, with its vast rail network, currently has only two female loco pilots and a handful of women working as assistant loco pilots. But these pioneers are paving the way for more to follow.
Bhupinder Kaur, 49, a native of Ludhiana, broke the glass ceiling in 2016, when she became the first woman in Northern Railway’s Firozpur Division to be elevated to the post of Loco Pilot (Goods), operating goods trains independently across Punjab.
Kaur, hailing from Alamgir village in Ludhiana, was recruited into the Indian Railways through the sports quota way back in 1997. A national-level athlete, Kaur’s sporting career became her gateway into a field she could never have imagined as a young girl.
“My father was a government teacher and always told me to study hard. But I was just an average student,” she recalls with a smile. “He encouraged me to focus on sports, and that is what got me this job. Today I’m working in a field usually dominated by men,” she says.
Her dedication and skill earned her another promotion this April. She became a Loco Pilot (Passenger), running passenger trains within the state. “Right now, I run passenger trains within Punjab, as we need a female assistant loco pilot along with us, which are limited as of now. But if they assign us long-route trains, I will definitely handle that responsibility too,” she remarks.
Kaur was initially posted at the Diesel Shed in Ludhiana and spent years learning the technicalities of the job. She also underwent extensive training at places like the Electric Shed in Ghaziabad. In 2010, she was promoted as an Assistant Loco Pilot, supporting main loco pilots in running trains.
Bhupinder is posted at the Jalandhar Headquarters of Northern Railway’s Firozpur Division and has independently driven trains from Jalandhar to Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Amritsar and other parts of Punjab.
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On International Women’s Day this year, she drove a special train from Ferozpur to Ludhiana — and in a heartening gesture, the entire train staff, including the ticket checker and station master, were all women that day.
Bhupinder’s colleague Sandhya Shah, the division’s second woman loco pilot, joined the profession through the competitive route. Shah, who hails from Saharanpur, was selected by the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), Jammu, in 2016 for the post of Assistant Loco Pilot. With a Diploma in Electronics Engineering, she completed her training at the Ludhiana headquarters of the Firozpur Division.
On June 28 this year, Shah independently operated a goods train as part of her promotion to Loco Pilot (Goods) — becoming the first woman in the division to be promoted to this post after being recruited through the Railway Recruitment Board, and the second woman loco pilot overall in Firozpur Division. She was accompanied on this milestone journey by another woman Assistant Loco Pilot, Aarti, and Chief Loco Inspector Harminder Singh. “Women are handling all sorts of duties with grit and determination,” Shah says proudly.
Bhupinder’s journey also highlights the support she draws from her family. Her husband is an Assistant Sub-Inspector in the Punjab Police, posted in Ludhiana. Their daughter is in Berlin, and their son is a wrestler.
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“Though after work I prefer to rest at home to be ready for the next day, whenever we go out somewhere, my family treats me as the most trusted driver on roads,” she laughs. “My husband often says, ‘You can drive a train, so a car is no big deal. I can afford to take a nap if you’re at the wheel!’”
For the young girls who watch Bhupinder Kaur and Sandhya Shah thunder past in the driver’s seat, the rail tracks ahead just might lead to dreams once thought impossible.
