Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India’s first driverless train operations on the Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line, connecting Janakpuri West and the Botanical Gardens, on Monday, along with the launch of National Common Mobility Card services. (NCMC) in full operation on the Airport Express Line.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said the inauguration will take place via video conference at 11 am on Monday.
“These innovations will herald a new era of travel, convenience and enhanced mobility for the residents of Delhi-NCR. With the start of driverless trains on the Delhi Metro Magenta Line, DMRC will enter the elite league of 7% of the world’s Metro networks, which can operate without drivers, ”the DMRC statement read.
DMRC also announced that after the 37 km Magenta Line, they are also preparing to introduce driverless technology in the 57 km Pink Line corridor (Shiv Vihar-Majlis Park) in mid-2021. This would increase the network without driver in the Delhi metro at around 94 km, which is almost 9% of the total network of the Delhi metro.
“Driverless trains will be fully automated, which will require minimal human intervention and eliminate the chances of human error. The Delhi Metro has pioneered the introduction of technology-driven solutions for passenger comfort and this is another step in the same direction, ”said the Delhi Metro.
Officials explained that driverless train technology has set standards for automation called degrees of automation (GoA). In GoA 1, trains are operated by a driver, and in GoA 2 and GoA 3, the role of the driver is reduced to operating doors and taking control in case of emergencies: starting and stopping of trains are automated. Finally, on the GoA 4, the trains are set to a completely unattended mode of operations.
Starting tomorrow, on the Magenta line between Janakpuri West and Botanical Garden, GoA 3 will be adopted for services.
Apart from this, the Delhi Metro on Monday will also start using the Common National Mobility Card, on the Airport Express Line. This will allow passengers with a RuPay debit card issued in the last 18 months by 23 banks to use it to ride the Metro. Passengers from anywhere in the country will now be able to ride the Airport Express line using this card, the DMRC said.
“This facility will be available throughout the Delhi Metro network by 2022,” confirmed DMRC spokespersons.
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