Delhi, Dec 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated India’s first driverless train operations on the Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line, connecting Janakpuri West and Botanical Garden along with the fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) services on the Airport Express Line on Monday.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also attended the via video conferencing.
Speaking at the event, PM Modi said the inauguration of the first driverless metro train shows how fast the country is moving towards smart systems.
“The first metro in the country was started with the efforts of Atal Ji. When our govt was formed in 2014, only 5 cities had metro services and today 18 cities have metro rail services. By 2025, we will take this service to more than 25 cities,” the Prime Minister said.
All you need to know India’s 1st driverless train:
1) The first ‘driverless’ train in the country will roll 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.
2) The Prime Minister’s office, in a statement, said that the driverless trains will be fully automated, which will eliminate the possibility of human error.
3) 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.
4) 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.
5) 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.
6) 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.
7) 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.
8) 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.
The initial launch was set for May this year, however, the program had to be postponed because of the coronavirus lockdown.
