The nation’s first entirely autonomous train network is the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) Magenta Line, which runs from the national capital’s Janakpuri West to Noida’s Botanical Garden.
To provide more room for the passengers, the DMRC removed the driver’s compartment from all 29 trains on this route.
“Magenta Line is fully autonomous as of right now. We have made extra room for passengers by removing the driver’s cabins from 29 trains. We will phase out attendants,” a DMRC representative stated, according to reports.
But as of right now, there’s an attendant after every three to four trains. The DMRC intends to gradually eliminate the attendants.
Similar measures will be implemented on the Pink Line, which runs from Majlis Park in North West Delhi to Shiv Vihar in North East Delhi, following the Magenta Line.
The Magenta and Pink lines connect to the Delhi Metro’s fully automated network, which is presently 97 km long. It is the only network for autonomous train operations in India. In addition, the future corridors covered by DMRC’s Phase-IV development will see driverless train operations.
First used on the Botanical Garden-Janakpuri West Magenta Line in December 2020, the autonomous train operation capability was expanded to the Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar Pink Line in November 2021.
“With the experience received from these two lines, we will try to implement this in Phase IV as soon as possible,” DMRC managing director Vikas Kumar had previously told TOI. We implemented several measures, including a track monitoring system with cameras mounted on the rails, for autonomous operations in Phase IV.
According to the DMRC, driverless trains increase operational flexibility while lowering the need for human intervention and mistakes. DMRC plans to buy 312 coaches, or 52 trains, so that they may operate autonomously in the priority routes of Phase IV.
All three of the Phase IV corridor’s lines—Janakpuri West–RK Ashram Marg (Magenta Line), Majlis Park–Maujpur, and Aerocity–Tughlakabad (Golden Line)—have more than 50% of their construction finished.
Phase IV of the Delhi Metro extension project was supposed to start construction in December 2019, however, it was delayed because of the COVID-19 epidemic and other issues with permits. Delhi Metro is anticipated to fulfil the 2026 timeline despite these challenges.
