Metro ride in Phase III of the Delhi Metro is set to be faster and more comfortable. Going high-tech, all trains in the new Brown (Mukundpur-Shiv Vihar) and Magenta (Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden) lines will, for the first time, be driverless and every platform is expected to have ‘platform doors’ similar to those on Airport Express Metro. Not just that, the trains which will be built for standard gauge tracks shall also accommodate more commuters than the existing trains.
The commuters of the Brown line will be the first to experience this world-class facility as the line is expected to be operational by May next year. The unique driverless trains technology, so far, is found in the metro systems of Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. “Trains on the Phase III will have a unique feature wherein we will be introducing driver less trains on line 7 and 8 (Brown and Magenta lines respectively). Initially, for first year the train operators will be deputed. At present there is always a driver in the cabin even if the Metro runs on auto run. The driver needs to be there to open and close the doors which will be done away with and made automatic in the new trains,” said a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official.
The new trains for these lines are being supplied by Hyundai Rotem, while so far only Mitsubishi (Phase I) and Bombardier (Phase II) had been doing the job. First, four trains of six coaches each will be inducted in both the corridor. The DMRC is shelling out `8.5 crore for each coach from Hyundai Rotem. Earlier, the corporation had paid `7.28 crore per coach when it purchased them in 2007 from Bombardier. “The trains are being sourced from South Korea. Twenty trains will come from South Korea while the rest of the 61 trains will be manufactured in Bangalore. The first train will be inducted in May 2015 in Mukundpur,” informed the official. The new rolling stock will have an average speed of 35 kmph, whereas the present rolling stock can be run on an average speed of 32 kmph. This will reduce the travel time on the Brown line by 12 minutes. Besides, the cabinless trains would be able to accommodate 240 commuters more in a six coach train. Since driverless trains will be introduced in Phase III, CBTC (Communication-Based Train Control) signaling system will also be added in the system.
The coaches are expected to be much brighter with seat colors ranging from pink, red to blue. Besides, they are also going to 10 per cent more energy efficient. “The new model will have a lot of hand rails and bars. The corner seats near the end of the coach will have three instead of the existing two seats, officials said. Moreover, the display inside the trains would be clearer and sharper. The trains shall also have a 37-inch wide lCD display which can be divided into three parts for displaying information through live feed inside the train.