NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is all agog at the prospect of being among the top five driverless metro train systems in the world with a network of 160km once the three priority corridors of Phase-IV are completed. The extensions of Pink and Magenta lines — Majlis Park-Maujpur and Janakpuri West-RK Puram, respectively — and the Aerocity-Tughlaqabad Silver Line will have driverless operations.Delhi Metro, the only driverless train operation (DTO) network in India, currently has a fully automated grid of about 97km on the Pink and Magenta lines. With the addition of around 65km of driverless operations in Phase-IV’s three priority corridors, DMRC is likely to be among the top five driverless metro systems in the world.“DTO brings more flexibility in train running, reduces human interventions and human errors. It also helps improve the availability of coaches for service,” said a DMRC official. “The driverless trains eliminate the manual process of checking required before induction into service every day and so reduce the burden on train operators. The parking on stabling lines in depots is also done automatically.”The DTO facility was launched on the Magenta Line (Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden) in December 2020 and was later introduced on the Pink Line (Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar) in November 2021. “The company has already started reaping the benefits of driverless operations on its two lines in terms of increased availability of coaches for service,” said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director (corporate communication), DMRC. “Reliability of the trains has increased many times over due to exhaustive self-tests done before induction into daily service, thus automatically eliminating all possibilities of human error. The benefits will further increase with a longer network under driverless operations.”In DTO, the train operator is initially present to instil a sense of confidence and to provide assistance if needed. “The driverless train operation’s higher level of diagnostic features will help move from conventional time-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance. This will also reduce the maintenance downtime of the coaches,” said a Delhi Metro official.DMRC recently signed a contract to procure 312 metro coaches for 52 trains for Phase-IV’s priority corridors. These are compatible with driverless operations. DMRC will procure 234 standard-gauge coaches for the extended sections of Pink and Magenta line, while 78 standard gauge coaches will be procured for the Tughlaqabad-Delhi Aerocity corridor.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/with-160km-driverless-network-delhi-metro-eyes-slot-in-global-top-5/articleshow/96630580.cms