India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated driverless services of metro trains on the 37-km long Magenta Line in Delhi on December 28, 2020. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced that the 59 km long Pink Line is expected to have driverless operations by the mid of 2021.
This will bring nine percent of the metro network into driverless operation. The total DMRC network consists of 390 km with 285 stations across 11 corridors.
The driverless trains have six coaches and are equipped with several advanced features. They are designed for a maximum speed of 95 km/h, and operational speed of 85 km/h.
Each coach can accommodate a maximum of 380 passengers, which translates to 2,280 passengers in each train set of six coaches. The driverless trains would be able to accommodate 40 commuters more in a six coach train as the driver’s cabin will not be required in such trains.
“These trains would be more energy-efficient than the earlier trains of the Delhi Metro because of improved design such as better regeneration of energy during braking, energy-efficient sub systems like LED lighting and air conditioning systems,” the DMRC stated.
