THE driverless trains of Delhi Metro will offer more reliability due to reduced human intervention, and are equipped with hi-tech cameras and obstruction sensing devices to ensure safety of passengers, officials said on Monday. India’s first-ever driverless train operations on the Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line was on Monday inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said his Government unlike its predecessors has taken growing urbanisation as an opportunity and asserted that metro train services will be extended to 25 cities by 2025 from the current 18 cities.

 

As passengers took a ride on this next-generation train, some of them felt unease thinking about the safety aspects, however, metro officials have reassured that technology will ensure the journey will be smoother and faster with full safety. Driven by cutting-edge technology, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had been conducting various trials for its new ‘driverless trains’.

 

The operationalisation of these trains is a major technologcal milestone for the DMRC and the country. “These trains can run at an average speed, which is a few notches higher than that of a regular driver-driven one (about 35 kmph). In old trains, in case of an emergency, a passenger can press the PAD (Passenger Alert Device) red button and alert the driver. In case of a driverless train, after pressing the button, the footage of the carriage will be sent to the operations control room to take action needed,” a senior DMRC official told PTI.