INDIA: Automated operation of Delhi Metro’s 59 km Pink Line between Majlis Park and Shiv Vihar was launched on November 25. A train operator will initially be retained onboard ‘to instil a sense of confidence and assistance’, Delhi Metro Rail Corp said.
Delhi’s first driverless line was the 37 km Magenta Line which opened in 2017-18 and switched to driverless operation in 2020. DMRC said the two lines totalling 97 km mean it now has the fourth largest automated metro network in the world, as well as the only one in India.
It added that automation offers an increase in operational flexibility and a reduction in human error including during the preparation of trains for service, while the onboard diagnostics systems on the Hyundai Rotem trainsets would support improved availability through a shift to condition-based maintenance.
Phase IV of the Delhi metro project will see the Pink Line, also known as Line 7, extended from Majlis Park to Maujpur in 2023, making it longest metro line in India at 70 km. Along with the 29 km Janakpuri West – RK Ashram Marg extension of the Magenta Line, or Line 8, and the future 24 km Aerocity – Tughalakabad Silver Line, this will form the world’s second largest driverless metro network at 160 km.
