India's 1st driverless trains to be inaugurated by PM Modi on Dec 28 | See details

India is all set to get the country’s first-ever driverless metro, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 28 via videoconferencing. The fully automated train will be running on the 37-km Magenta Line and it will be connecting the national capital with nearby cities, including Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Bahadurgarh and Ghaziabad. In addition to this, PM Modi will also launch a National Common Mobility Card for travel on Airport Express Line on the same day. 

Over the past few years, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had been carrying out trial runs in driverless mode during non-revenue hours. The officials had even reviewed the train’s signalling system for the eventual implementation of Unattended Train Operation (UTO) phase. Now, the DMRC will be replacing the driver with “roaming attendants”, who will not be stationed at the driver’s cabin, but will have all the training related to driving the metros. The attendants will be moving in the train in a bid to ensure they are able to assist passengers in need. 

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In the official press release, the PM Office said, “These innovations will herald a new era of travelling comfort and enhanced mobility. The driverless trains will be fully automated, which will eliminate the possibility of human error. After the start of driverless services on the Magenta Line, the Pink Line of Delhi Metro is expected to have driverless operations by the mid of 2021”. 

“The National Common Mobility Card, which will be fully operationalised on the Airport Express Line, will enable anyone carrying a RuPay-Debit Card issued from any part of the country to travel on the Airport Express Line using that card. This facility will become available on the entire Delhi Metro network by 2022,” it further added. 

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Features of new driverless trains 

Now, the commercial operation of the new-generation metros is set to be a major technological feat. Back in 2017, the DMRC had started full signalling trials of its new driverless trains along a 20km long stretch on the Pink Line. The trials were to test the automation of the new trains, equipped with UTO and Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling systems, which will significantly increase their frequency. 

The new driverless trains, which will run from Janakpuri to Botanical Garden in Noida and Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar, will have six coaches. They will also be equipped with several advanced features such as better regeneration of energy during braking, energy-efficient subsystems like LED lighting and air conditioning systems. Further, they are even designed for a maximum speed of 95 kmph and operations speed of 85 kmph. The DMRC has informed that each coach can accommodate a maximum of 380 passengers, meaning up to 2,280 passengers in each train. 

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