New Delhi: India is set to script history for getting its first-ever driverless fully-automated metro which will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday via video conferencing. The driverless metro will roll out on a 37 km long Magenta line spread across the National Capital Region and will later be stretched till 57 km pink line. PM Modi will also launch fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) service on the Airport Express Line tomorrow.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), in an official statement, said that the fully-automated driverless services will operate on Communications-based train control signalling technology (CBTC) and will run on Magenta Line (Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden) and Pink Line (Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar).
"These innovations are going to herald a new era of travelling comfort and enhanced mobility for the National Capital Region (NCR)'s residents. With the commencement of driverless trains on the Delhi Metro's Magenta Line, DMRC will enter the elite league of seven per cent of world's Metro networks which can operate without drivers," read an official release.
How does the driverless metro work?
The driverless automated trains will be implemented on lines coming under Phase III expansion as they are equipped with CBTC signalling technology and works similar to wireless fidelity. According to DMRC officials, the CBTC monitors every aspect of train operations and does not require human intervention for metro operations.
The officials also said that the unattended train operations will give a different experience to the passengers and will eliminate human errors. In the initial trials, around 25-30 driverless metros will start operations and automatic trains under Phase IV operations will also commence soon.
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DMRC chief spokesperson Anuj Dayal said, "Today, there are 702 km metro lines spread across 18 cities and it is expected to expand in 27 cities up to 1000 km. In 2022, around one crore people will use metro services. At present, Delhi NCR region has 11 corridors spread across 390 km with a total of 285 stations. Now, around 60 lakh people avail the metro services."
What is National Common Mobility Card service?
The NCMC which will be fully operationalised on the Airport Express Line will enable anyone carrying a RuPay-Debit Card issued from any part of the country to travel on the route using it. This facility will become available on the entire Delhi Metro network by 2022.
Dubbed as 'One Nation One Card', the NCMC is an inter-operable transport card that allows holders to pay multiple kinds of transport charges, including using metro and bus services across the country, toll, parking and even for retail shopping and withdrawing money.
READ: India's first driverless metro train set to roll
With PTI inputs
