Driverless trains take Metro commuters by surprise

After boarding at Janakpuri West Metro station, where the train picked up its first batch of passengers, Meena said he was not aware the unit he had boarded was running without a driver.

Rajesh Meena, a 42-year-old resident of west Delhi’s Janakpuri was among the first passengers to board India’s first driverless train on the Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line (Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden) on Monday.

India's first fully automated driverless train leaves the Botanical Garden Metro in Noida. (PTI)

After boarding at Janakpuri West Metro station, where the train picked up its first batch of passengers, Meena said he was not aware the unit he had boarded was running without a driver.

“Till a few stations after I boarded, I was not aware that the train was driverless. But when I was told about this, I started feeling that the train was running faster than usual. This could be psychological,” Meena said.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Monday entered the elite league of 7% of the world’s Metro networks that can operate without drivers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first driverless train via a video event, after which the first train set off from Jasola Vihar-Shaheen Bagh station towards Janakpuri West.

While many commuters like Meena said they were not aware of being on board a driverless train, others had especially come to take a ride aboard these trains.

“There was no way of knowing if the train we were aboard was driverless or not but we have to take a ride after the news channels flashed that the Prime Minister had inaugurated this new technology. We did not feel like the ride was any different,” said Manju Raj, a resident of southwest Delhi’s Palam.

DMRC on Monday said that a limited number of trains was operated on the driverless technology. This number will be gradually increased over the coming days, they said. By mid-2021, the driverless operations will be extended to the Pink Line, which connects Majlis Park and Shiv Vihar.

On Monday, some commuters also said that they were a little apprehensive of the safety measures in place on a driverless train but were confident of the DMRC’s safety standards.

“Once you know that the train is being automatically operated and that there is no driver on board, you tend to wonder what happens in case of emergencies. Maybe eventually these doubts will clear out,” said Radhika Uppal, a commuter who boarded from south Delhi’s Munirka.

DMRC officials assured that initially there will be a driver in these automated trains to win the confidence of the commuters.

“In DTO [driverless train operations], initially, the train operator will be present in the train to instil a sense of confidence and assistance. DTO’s higher level of diagnostic features will help move from conventional time-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance. This will also reduce maintenance downtime of trains,” the DMRC said in a statement.