Now metro train will operate without Driver

Driver less metro train will be a part of Indian Metro soon. [ हिंदी में]

India will soon witness driver less metro train, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shows green signal on 28 December 2020. As per DMRC Executive Anuj Dayal , 38 km long magenta line will operate from Janakpuri West in West Delhi to Botanical Garden in Noida without a driver.

 

This metro train is equipped with high resolution cameras, remote handling emergency alarms, real time monitoring devices and many high level technology to eliminate the possibility of human error.

 

DMRC had driverless technology since 2017, but they were conducting many trials before its launch. Metro train launch was fixed for May 2020 but it had to be postponed due to the pandemic lockdown.

 

Here’s a look at some of the key features about this new venture.

Making public metro train transport ‘smart’

During the video conferencing function, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The inauguration of the first driverless metro train shows how fast India is moving towards smart systems.”

He further said that , “The first metro in the country was started with the efforts of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji. When our government was formed in 2014, only five cities had metro services and today 18 cities have metro rail service. By 2025, we will take this service to more than 25 cities.”

The Centre has also notified changes in the Metro Railways General Rules, 2020 as the previous norms did not allow driverless services, DMRC Executive Anuj Dayal informed.

On 16 December, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs issued a gazette notification adding unattended train operation (UTO) mode to the metro rules.

 

How driverless metro is different from regular metro

The driverless metro will be fully automated with cameras, high level technology requiring minimum human intervention and reducing the possibilities of human errors, as per an official statement issued by DMRC.

Driverless train technology has four different standards for automation called grades of automation (GoA).

In GoA I, trains are operated by one driver.

In GoA II and GoA III, the starting and halting of trains are automated while the role of the driver is reduced to operate doors and to take charge of the train in case of emergencies.

In GoA IV, the trains are completely automated without any human interference.

DMRC reported that we are in grade I stage (GoA I) and will gradually reach to the fourth grade.

The world’s first fully automated driverless railway opened in Japan’s Kobe in 1981.

The driverless metro trains will switch to what is called the Driverless Train Operation (DTO) mode. In this mode, trains can be controlled entirely from the three command centres of the DMRC, without any human intervention. At the command centres, information controllers have been created to handle the passenger information system and a system to monitor the crowd.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CMRS) has set multiple conditions to be fulfilled by the metro for introducing UTO operations.

According to DMRC officials, the railway tracks cannot be captured with the placement and resolution of the cameras that are currently installed. “The bandwidth capacity to relay footage in real time will have to be enhanced,” said a technical advisor of the DMRC, who has been involved in this project.

“This requirement is prerequisite to implementation of UTO. Presently, we are starting driverless operation. There will be a roving attendant on board. Hence, those cameras are not essential at this stage,” Dayal told.

The complete transition to driverless mode will be limited to one train each on Magenta and Pink Lines that have these cameras currently.

A DMRC spokesperson confirmed that no separate budget has been allocated for driverless trains at this point as it was already part of Phase III of metro expansion (Rs 40,000 crore).