On December 28, 2020, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated India’s 1st ever Driverless Train Operations on Delhi Metro’s 38 Kilometres long Magenta Line which connects Janakpuri West & Botanical Garden in Noida. PM also inaugurated the fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) services on the Airport Express Line of Delhi Metro.
i.With the inauguration, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) entered the elite league of 7% of the World’s Metro networks which are capable of operating without drivers.
ii.The Driverless train operations will be extended to the Pink Line between Majlis Park & Shiv Vihar by Mid-2021.
iii.Hardeep Singh Puri,Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs, Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi were present during the launch.
‘Driverless’ Trains:
i.The Driverless Trains are equipped with features like better regeneration of energy during braking, energy-efficient subsystems like LED lighting & air conditioning systems.
ii.They are capable of travelling at a maximum speed of 95 Kmph & operational speed of 85 kmph.
iii.They will have 6 coaches and each coach can accommodate around 380 passengers.
iv.The driverless trains will eliminate the possibility of human error.
Note:-
Delhi Metro is India’s largest urban mass rapid transit system.
National Common Mobility Card (NCMC):
i.NCMC is an inter-operable transport card allowing citizens to pay for bus travel, toll taxes, parking charges, retail shopping & withdraw money.
ii.With the inauguration of NCMC cards in Delhi Metro, passengers from all over India who are carrying RuPay debit cards issued in the last 18 months by 23 banks can make use of the feature.
iii.It was first introduced at Ahmedabad Metro in 2019.
iv.NCMC was launched in India with the tagline of ‘One Nation One Card’ on 4 March 2019 and it will become available on the entire Delhi Metro network by 2022.
v.The National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) is an automatic fare collection system, the idea of NCMC was floated by the Nandan Nilekani committee set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Key Points from PM Modi’s address:
i.India now has metro rail in 18 cities (compared to 5 cities in 2014), plans are being made to expand metro rail in more than 25 cities by 2025.
ii.The total kilometres of operational metro lines in the country is more than 700 Kilometres (compared to 248 kms in 2014), plans are being made to expand it to 1700 kms by 2025.
Versions of Metro Rail:
As Metro Trains are not viable for every city, based on passenger numbers different versions will be introduced.
i.MetroLite version – Constructed in cities where passenger numbers are less. To be constructed at 40% of normal metro.
ii.Metro Neo – To be established in cities where the ridership is less, to be built at cost of 25% of normal metro.
iii.Water Metro – To be constructed in cities which have large water bodies.
Solar Power:
Around 130 MegaWatts of solar power is being used in Metro Rail, which is set to be increased to 600 MW.
Recent Related News:
i.September 16, 2020, On the occasion of Engineers Day i.e. September 15, 2020, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) launched in-ATS, the first Made-in-India signalling system.
About Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC):
First Operations of Delhi Metro Rail began in 2002
Total operational network – 389 kms
Chairman – Durga Shanker Mishra
About Delhi:
Wildlife Sanctuary– Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary (Aravalli hill range)
Dam– Delhi Dam (also known as Hartwick Dam) is an Embankment Dam.
