Living 1,700km apart, Thao and Hai have something in common: they are the only women working as metro drivers in their cities.
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"Covid-19 brought me to this profession"
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At 28 years old, Nguyen Thi Hai is still waiting for her first working day as a metro train driver.
The girl living in Chuong My (Hanoi) is the only female in the group of 50 train drivers recruited by Hanoi Metro Company to operate the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station urban railway line.
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On a drizzly day in Hanoi, with temperatures dropping to 12 degrees Celsius, Hai donned a raincoat and rode her motorbike more than 30km from home to Nhon Depot to "join forces" with her colleagues. She and a group of 50 train drivers were participating in the final training session before the operation of the elevated section of the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station metro.
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Before choosing to work as a metro driver, Hai graduated with a bachelor’s degree in defense education and taught as a lecturer for 2 years. The turning point came in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out and she had to quit teaching.
After a few months of staying home due to the pandemic, Hai read the Hanoi Metro Company's recruitment notice for train drivers.
Hai's father, an elderly farmer, told her: "If you feel like it and are passionate about it, then choose it."
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Passing the rigorous physical examination, Hai was directly interviewed for recruitment by Dr. Vu Hong Truong, General Director of Hanoi Metro.
The director warned her about the stressful nature of the job, but she still insisted on applying.
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"My family is very supportive of my career. I believe my future husband will also support me," the female train driver shared.
She determined that the job of a metro train driver would be "leave early, return late". At the depot (central station), train drivers have dormitories to sleep in after working late at night or sleep the night before to get on the line early in the morning.
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For 3 years, Hai has been learning the trade while waiting for the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station metro line to complete construction. Now, she is completely confident in her ability to control the cockpit.
With only one crew member, Hai will have to take charge of everything, from stopping the train at the right location to handling emergency situations and organizing passenger evacuation in case of fire.
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Entering 2024, she and her colleagues were excited when Hanoi City leaders confirmed that the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station metro line would operate the elevated section in the middle of this year.
"I think the female train driver looks cool"
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What direction will a woman's career take when she finishes 10 years of childcare?
For Pham Thi Thu Thao (36 years old, living in Thu Duc City), it was the choice to become a metro train driver.
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In early March, Ho Chi Minh City experienced a peak heat wave. Thao braved the sun to the meeting point at Tan Cang station. The practice session under the guidance of a Hitachi engineer (Japanese contractor) made her nervous. Today, she was alone in the cockpit.
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"The image of female train technicians abroad is both 'cool' and interesting. When I saw it, I suddenly wanted to become one of them," Thao said about the reason for her career change.
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Her career change also made her the first female metro train driver of the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien line and of Ho Chi Minh City. The remaining 57 train drivers are all men.
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After being recruited by Ho Chi Minh City Metro Company No. 1, Thao went through the intermediate train driving program of the Railway College. She also went to Hanoi to learn experience transfer from the Cat Linh - Ha Dong train operating team.
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Four years of learning to drive a train was also the time she had to get used to a working environment with only machines and men. It was completely different from the space of a kindergarten class with children and songs.
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She said the most difficult thing for a metro train driver is to stop and park the train in the right position. With the special feature of the platform with barrier gates like metro line 1, the train's stopping point must be precise to the centimeter.
"From now until commercial exploitation, the practical part will be trained by Japanese experts in the near future," said the female train driver.
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This July, the first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City will officially operate. Thao's dream of being the driver, transporting hundreds of city residents on a modern, civilized train every day is about to come true.
Driving a motor vehicle is traditionally a male-dominated occupation. This is true of buses, planes, boats, and of course, trains.
As the only women in a crew of 50-60, Hai and Thao represent only a 2% minority.
However, the fact that the leaders of the metro companies in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City trusted two girls with the job of train driver shows that the door is still open for the next female candidates.
In some cities, such as Melbourne, Australia, the proportion of female train drivers on metro lines has increased from 12% in 2009 to 30% in 2022.
Original link: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/2-nu-lai-tau-metro-duy-nhat-cua-ha-noi-va-tphcm-20240307221525621.htm
According to Dan Tri
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