All women team undertakes primary maintenance of two rakes at Mangaluru Central

Mangaluru: It was an all women team of technical and maintenance staff attached to Mangaluru Central coaching depot of Palakkad division of Southern Railway that undertook primary maintenance of rakes of trains 56654 Mangaluru Central-Kozhikode Passenger and 56656 Mangaluru Central-Kannur passenger on Friday. It was their way of observing International Women’s Day in an area where they normally rub shoulders with their male counterparts.
Normally, a team of about 10-12 personnel comprising men and women employees undertake primary maintenance of a rake, but on International Women’s Day, as many as 21 women into technical and maintenance work at the depot, accomplished this task on their own. Undertaking the primary maintenance of a train rake by an all-women team perhaps is a first, at least in Mangaluru, averred, senior technician P P Suhasini, who led the team.

“We have demonstrated that women too are capable of undertaking difficult and strenuous mechanical tasks matching our male counterparts,” Suhasini said, striving to underscore the fact that despite the foray of women in railways for quite some time now, there are boundaries they are willing to push and successfully at that too. She was thrilled that the divisional railway authorities decided to repose faith in their abilities at this onerous task.

Senior section engineer Binu Jose, who is in charge of the coaching depot at Mangaluru Central, said it was the idea of the Indian Railway administration to celebrate International Women’s Day differently this time. Incidentally, the coaching depot at Mangaluru Central has over 450 employees, including 85 women among them. Primary maintenance is done at regular intervals after the rake clocks prescribed distance, involves inspecting and fixing faults, if any.

The task also involves checking the gear under coaches as well as internal cleaning and maintenance. While mechanical technicians inspected the under gear of the coaches looking for defects or faults, if any and fixed them in the pit-line, electrical technicians inspected lights, fans and other electrical fixtures inside the coaches and fixed faults wherever found. The maintenance staff thoroughly cleaned the interiors and exteriors of these coaches, Binu said.