Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first-ever driverless train operations on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line.

Highlights

    • The first 'driverless' train in the country rolled out on the 37-km long Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro. The rail network is spread across the national capital region — Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden in Noida.

    • Driverless trains are fully automated, which will eliminate the possibility of human error.

    • The driverless train technology was inaugurated on the Magenta Line, connecting Janakpuri West and Botanical Garden, but will be extended to the Pink Line (Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar) by mid-2021.

    • The extension of this technology to the Pink Line will increase the driverless network on the Delhi Metro to around 94 km, which is nearly 9% of Delhi Metro’s total network.

    • The 'driverless' trains will have six coaches. Each coach can accommodate a maximum of 380 passengers, which translates to 2,280 passengers on each train.

    • It will be equipped with several advanced features such as better regeneration of energy during braking, energy-efficient subsystems like LED lighting and air conditioning systems.

    • They are designed for a maximum speed of 95 kmph and operational speed of 85 kmph, the Delhi Metro had said.

    • The cabin-less trains would be able to accommodate 40 commuters more in a six coach train as the driver's cab will not be required in such trains.

    • With this, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will enter the elite league of 7% of the world's Metro networks, which can operate without drivers.

    • In 2014, only 5 cities had metro rail and today, metro rail is available in 18 cities. By the year 2025, its going to be expanded to more than 25 cities.

    • In 2014, only 248 km of metro lines were operational in the country and today it is about three times, more than 700 kilometers. By the year 2025, its going to be expanded it to 1700 km.

    • Government's Metro policy included emphasis on working according to local demand, promoting local standards, Make in India expansion and use of modern technology.

    • Different types of metro rail work are going on

    a. Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) between Delhi and Meerut, which will reduce the distance of Delhi and Meerut to less than an hour.

    b. MetroLite version: To be constructed in cities where passenger numbers are less and at 40 percent cost of normal metro.

    c. Metro Neo: It is being worked in cities where the ridership is less and would be built at the cost of 25 percent of the normal metro.

    d. Water Metro: For cities where there are large water bodies, the water metro is now being worked on. This will provide last mile connectivity to the people near the islands.

    • Metro today is no longer just a medium of public transport but a great way to reduce pollution. Thousands of vehicles have been reduced from the road due to the metro network, which used to cause pollution and jam.

    • Prime Minister emphasised for the expansion of metro services, Make in India is important since Make in India reduces costs, saves foreign exchange, and gives more employment to people in the country itself.

    • Standardization of rolling stock has reduced the cost of every coach from 12 crores to 8 crores now.

    • Four big companies are manufacturing metro coaches in the country and dozens of companies are engaged in the manufacture of metro components.

    • In Metro rail, a braking system is utilised in which 50 percent of the energy goes back into the grid when the brakes are applied. Today 130 MW of solar power is being used in metro rail, which will be increased to 600 MW.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)