Driverless Metro: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is now planning to introduce driverless trains in its upcoming Phase 4 project. This move aims to make metro operations faster, safer, and more accurate, reducing the risk of human error. A senior DMRC official told the Indian Express that the upcoming Phase 4 will also be equipped with driverless trains.
Driverless trains are already running
The country’s first driverless metro was inaugurated on December 28, 2020, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Magenta Line (Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden). Since then, the Delhi Metro has gradually expanded its Unattended Train Operation (UTO) system. Currently, such services are operating on the Pink Line (Line 7) and Magenta Line (Line 8). According to a DMRC official, 43 driverless trains are currently operating on the Pink Line and 26 on the Magenta Line.
DMRC says that the introduction of driverless technology has significantly improved the availability and efficiency of train coaches. Previously, tasks that were performed manually are now automated. This has simplified maintenance and reduced the workload of operators.
According to DMRC, when Phase-4 is fully completed and driverless trains start running on the Aerocity-Tughlakabad Golden Line as well as the extensions of the Pink and Magenta Lines, the Delhi Metro will become the second largest driverless metro network in the world with a fully automated route of approximately 160 km.
Glimpse of Phase-4 project
Phase-4 includes a total of three priority corridors, in which driverless metro trains will run between Majlis Park to Maujpur (Pink Line), Janakpuri West to RK Ashram Marg (Magenta Line), Delhi Aerocity to Tughlakabad (Golden Line), Indralok to Indraprastha (Green Line), Lajpat Nagar to Saket G Block (Golden Line) and Rithala to Kundli (Red Line).