Kochi Metro appoints seven women as loco pilots

KOCHI: Never in her dreams did it occur to Vandana V S that she would pilot a Metro train. "What I was looking forward was, at the most, a Metro ride," said Vandana, who has been recruited as one of the loco pilots (train operator) of the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd ( KMRL ).Along with her colleague Gopika SS, she had come to the Muttom Station on Friday to share her experience as a train operator. Out of the total 39 loco pilots appointed by the KMRL seven are women."The Metro's system is completely equipped to operate driverless trains though drivers are deputed. After a couple of years they are likely to be gradually withdrawn," said Gopika SS.All the train operators employed with the KMRL are from Kerala. The KMRL had insisted that knowledge of spoken and written Malayalam was essential for those applying for the post."After completing B Tech, I was searching for a job. It was then that I came across job opportunities at the KMRL. Initially, an online test was conducted, which was followed by a psychometric test. Then, there was a medical test. Candidates were selected based on their performances in these tests," said Vandana. The new recruits began training at Kochi Metro in June 2016 after completing a three-month training at Bengaluru."For getting the competency certificate we have to pilot the train for 400km. We were also required to drive 40km on the test tracks at Muttom," said Gopika.The Kochi Metro is capable of achieving a maximum speed of 90km per hour. The agency is planning to operate the trains at 80kms per hour. The loco pilots said during trial runs they could achieve a maximum speed of 75kms and they stopped the trains at all 11 stations along the Aluva-Palarivattom stretch.Each loco pilot has to do an eight-hour shift. According to KMRL officials they would get a break in between trips. "In Kochi Metro's case each trip begins and ends at Muttom yard. The staff will change duty there," said an official.While Vandana is a Perumbavoor native, Gopika is from Kollam. The women said they did not encounter any issues while on job. Their priority is passenger safety, they said."It is beautiful to see Kochi city from above. Our families and neighbours are curious to know about the Metro and its operations. There is no element of fear, we are happy," she said adding that people are eager to know whether the Metro trains has a steering system. "We explain to them that it works on a liver similar to one inside cockpits of airplanes," she said.