India’s First Driverless Metro Train To Be Rolled Out This Month; Know The Details

Picture courtesy indianexpress.com

New Delhi: The country’s first driverless metro train will be rolled out in Delhi later this month, most likely on December 25.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to flag off the landmark service on the Magenta Line (Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden) of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), india.com reported.

“A proposal has been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office to flag off the driverless train on December 25,” a source was quoted as saying.

Delhi Metro will be completing 18 years of operation on December 25. Hence efforts are being made to start the driverless train system on Christmas Day.

To begin with, drivers will be deputed to operate the trains, before they are gradually withdrawn to switch completely to Unattended Train Operation (UTO).

“These new-generation trains are suitable to eventually run on UTO mode, that is, train operators will not be required to operate these trains and the Operations Control Centres (OCC) of the Delhi Metro system will directly regulate the movement of the trains,” a DMRC said.

Then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had launched the Delhi Metro service – a 8.2 km stretch from Shahdara to Tis Hazari – on December 25, 2002.

Delhi Metro now has 10 lines with 242 stations, with an average daily passenger count of 26 lakh passengers.