India’s urban mass rapid transit will mark a milestone on December 28 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to mark the country’s first ‘driverless’ metro in Delhi.
The first ‘driverless’ train will be deployed on the 38 km long Line 8 or the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro, which has a 390 km long network spread over the national capital and neighboring cities such as Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad . , Ghaziabad and Bahadurgarh.
The Delhi Metro, now the largest urban mass rapid transit system in the country, had started operating on December 24, 2002 on a 8.4 km stretch between Shahdara and Tis Hazari stations. Since then, its network has been growing and another 61 km will be added under the Phase IV expansion project.
Since 2002, the Delhi Metro has also made several technological advances in terms of train operation, and the transition to “driverless” mode is the latest in a series of changes in the last 18 years. The Center has also notified changes to the Metro Railways General Rules, 2020 as the previous rules did not allow driverless services.
Will All Delhi Metro Trains Operate Without Drivers From Dec 28?
No, the driverless train operation (DTO) or unattended train operation (UTO) modes can only be implemented on Line 7 and Line 8 of the DMRC network that emerged under the expansion of Phase III. These hallways are equipped with advanced signage technology that makes the transition possible. For now, DMRC is implementing UTO mode only on Line 8.
How much control do drivers have over train operations now?
Even now, trains are mostly controlled remotely from the command rooms of the DMRC known as the Operations Control Center (OCC), from where teams of engineers track and monitor train movement on the network in real time. DMRC. OCCs are similar to air traffic control towers equipped with large screens and communication technology. DMRC has three OCCs, including two inside the metro headquarters and one in Shastri Park. But the level of control that train drivers or operators have over trains varies from line to line.
Do drivers have more control over train operations in older corridors?
That’s right. For example, on Line 1 or the Red Line and Line 3/4 or the Blue Line, drivers have full control of the trains, starting with speed, opening and closing of doors. However, the target speed is decided by the Automatic Train Protection System (ATP), which means that drivers cannot run trains over a certain limit. The remaining corridors, including Line 8 for now, are covered by Automatic Train Operation (ATO) mode. In this mode, drivers only press the exit command after closing the doors on each platform. But the ATO mode is occasionally turned off even on these lines and drivers are required to operate the trains manually so they are prepared to intervene in case of emergencies.
📣 JOIN NOW 📣: The Telegram channel Explained Express
What will change on the Magenta Line starting December 28?
From ATP and ATO, the metro will switch to Driverless Train Operation (DTO) mode. In this mode, trains can be fully controlled from all three DMRC command centers, without any human intervention. Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling technology also enables remote monitoring and troubleshooting of all aspects of train operations. Manual intervention is necessary only in cases of hardware replacement. In command centers, information controller posts have been created to manage the passenger information system, crowd monitoring. Rolling stock controllers will monitor train equipment in real time, download faults and other events captured by CCTV, and help traffic controllers execute commands remotely. All station controllers will also have access to onboard CCTV power. But the system will still be one step away from Unattended Train Operation (UTO) mode, the final stage of driverless services.
Does that mean that technically Metro will still have drivers on board?
Yes for now. Until DMRC switches to UTO mode, it will have roaming assistants, who will be trained metro operators, on board to intervene in case of emergencies or other failures. That will change once the metro finishes equipping all trains with high-resolution cameras to detect track defects. After that, the metro will also phase out the cabins intended for drivers and cover all the control panels. Currently, drivers operate from cabins, located at the front and rear of each train, which block the view of the tracks from the front and end cars. Track defects cannot be captured with the location and resolution of the currently installed cameras. The bandwidth capacity to transmit images in real time to command centers will also need to be increased.
But how safe will the trains be in UTO mode?
DMRC notes that its train operations already involve a considerable degree of automation. And high-resolution cameras, once installed, will avoid the need for manual track tracking from drivers’ cabins. According to the plan, the images of the tracks and overhead cables, from which the trains obtain energy, transmitted to the OCCs will be continuously analyzed. and corrective actions taken immediately in case of any abnormality.
The Commissioner for Railroad Safety (CMRS), who gave the DMRC its go-ahead for DTO / UTO operations on December 18, also directed the metro to ensure that onboard cameras are kept free of moisture to ensure visibility. Clara in the command center. . DMRC has also hired a consultant (consortium of Systra MVA and Systra France) for inspection and review of systems for the implementation of the UTO operation. The DMRC will send the report to the CMRS at the time of UTO mode implementation.
.
