Narendra Modi flags off India’s first ever fully-automated driverless metro train in Delhi; all you need to know

Taking transportation technological advancement of the country ahead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday flagged off India’s first-ever fully-automated driverless metro train on the Magenta Line of Delhi Metro. While the Delhi Metro has one of the most meticulously-planned train services that maps the entire National Capital Region (NCR), the new driverless train will enable smoother conduct and ease in transportation. Here are some important facts to know about the new driverless train of Delhi Metro: The automated service will be started on the 37-km Magenta Line that stretches from Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden. According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the driverless train will be next operated on the Pink Line that covers the area from Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar. The 57 km area is scheduled to be covered by the mid of 2021. The statement added that the feat will include Delhi Metro in a list of elite train corporations around the world which can operate services without drivers. Times Now quoted a senior Delhi Metro official to state that the commercial operation of these driverless trains will also begin from Monday itself. Ahead of the end of the year 2020, the inauguration of the new services will mark the “first major event of Delhi Metro this year” after the conduct had to be stopped for months earlier due to the pandemic. Once the operations begin in both the Magenta and Pink lines, Delhi Metro will have a “driverless network length of about 94 km” that makes up for about nine per cent of the world’s total driverless metro network. According to a report by The Indian Express, the driverless train operation (DTO) or the unattended train operation (UTO) services can be implemented only on Line 7 and Line 8 of the DMRC network for now. These lines have been developed under the Phase III expansion of the network. The report added that drivers have varying control on the train’s movement in different lines. For example, drivers have the most control in lines 1 and 3 or 4. A control room called the Operations Control Centre also helps drivers navigate through the journey. Under the new system, the trains will be controlled entirely from the three command centres of the DMRC. No human intervention will be seen at any point. However, the trains are going to have attendants on board for the time being, to intervene in case of emergencies.