In a remarkable feat achieved by the Delhi Metro, driverless train operations were inaugurated on the 59 kilometre long Pink Line from Majlis park to Shiv Vihar of the Delhi Metro on Thursday. With this, the Delhi Metro’s fully automated network grows to about 97 kilometre, making it the fourth largest in the world and the only driverless train operations network in India. The driverless train operation was flagged off by Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi Transport Minister, Kailash Gahlot through video conferencing. “The Driverless Train Operation will bring more flexibility in train operations, reduce human interventions and human errors. It will also help in improving the availability of coaches for service. The Driverless Trains will eliminate the manual process of checking done before induction, subsequently reducing burden on train operators. The parking on the stabling line in depots will also be done automatically,” a Delhi Metro spokesperson said.
The first-ever driverless train operations in India were also started by the Delhi Metro in December last year on the Delhi Metro’s Magenta line. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in a statement also said that the driverless train operations have already started reaping benefits on its Magenta line which has led to an increased availability of coaches for service.
“Reliability of the trains have increased manifold due to exhaustive self-tests done before induction in service everyday automatically eliminating all possibilities of human error. The benefits will further increase with a longer network under driverless train operation,” the DMRC said.
However, these driverless trains will begin operations with a train operator in the initial days.