Payyannur: Malayali loco pilots were at the controls during the inaugural run of the new Yeshwantpur-Goa Vande Bharat Express, bringing pride to Kerala.

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P. Sunilkumar and Kavya Mohan, who are based at the Yeshwantpur depot of the Bengaluru Division, operated the inaugural service. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the train at 1.30 pm on Friday. The duo operated the train from Yeshwantpur to Sakleshpur.

Sunilkumar, a native of Kottakkal, has been working as a loco pilot for 37 years. Kavya Mohan, who has six years of experience, hails from Kottayam.

The return Goa-Yeshwantpur Vande Bharat service will be operated from Sakleshpur to Yeshwantpur by P. Deepu, a native of Edakkad in Kannur.

Malayali loco pilots have often been part of the inaugural journeys of Vande Bharat trains.

Biju Paul, a native of Wayanad, was at the controls during the inaugural run of the Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper service. He operated the train between Bengaluru and Dharmavaram.

R. Surendran, a native of Makreri in Kannur, operated South India's first Vande Bharat Express in 2022. Rajesh, a senior assistant loco pilot from Mannuthy in Thrissur, was another Malayali presence during the Bengaluru-Chennai Vande Bharat journey.