India’s First-Ever Driverless Train Operations
On 28 December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first-ever fully-automated driverless train service of the country on the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro. The driverless train service has been flagged off via video conferencing along with entirely-operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) service on the Airport Express Line.
Key Points
- After the flagging of the first driverless train service on the Magenta Line of 37 km (Janakpuri West – Botanical Garden), the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has entered the elite group of “7% Metro Networks of the World” operating without drivers.
- The driverless train has 6 coaches with advanced features. Each coach has a capacity of accommodating 380 passengers.
- The train has an operational speed of 85 Km per hour and can attain a maximum speed of 95 Km per hour.
- Driverless trains will eliminate the chances of human error.
- The Delhi Metro is now connected with NCMC which is a “One Nation One Card” that allows people to pay money for their travel, retail shopping, toll taxes, etc. It was launched in March 2019 and enabled through the RuPay card.
- After driverless train service on Magenta line, similar service will be started on the 57 km Pin line of Delhi Metro by the mid-2021.
- NCMC will also be available on the entire network of Delhi Metro by the year 2022.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)
DMRC Limited is a company that has built Delhi Metro and also operates it. The company has an equal equity partnership of the Delhi government and the Government of India. Delhi Metro began operations in the year 2002.