Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is planning to introduce driverless operations for two metro lines in New Delhi in 2020.

The Mangenta and Pink lines, opened in 2017 and 2018 respectively, were designed to allow fully automated operation.

In stage 1 of the move towards fully automated operation, the drivers will be removed but each train will have an on-board attendant, who will move across the train to assist passengers. These train attendants will be multi-skilled personnel, besides being trained as drivers too. During this phase, train doors will already be opened and closed automatically by the system.

DMRC plans to remove the present driver cabin too and make the area accessible to passengers.

After gaining sufficient operational experience, stage 2 will involve reducing the number of attendants, which will be on alternate trains only. Then, based on the experience of the first two stages, DMRC may decide to remove the attendants altogether.

Trial runs in driverless mode have already started. They have been carried out outside passenger service hours.

The Pink Line runs from Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar and the Magenta Line connects Botanical Garden to Janakpuri West.

Source: DMRC