Bengaluru: Driverless trains will be operated by drivers initially, says BMRCL
BENGALURU: Bengaluru Metro’s driverless trains arrived a week ago amid much euphoria, but initially, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) plans to operate the trains with drivers. “It is a cumbersome process to get permission to operate driverless trains. We will start off with drivers, and gradually switch over to signal-based operations,” said a top official.
A senior BMRCL official said that of the 36 trains, only 15 will be based on the Communications-Based Train Control (CTBC) system. “In simple terms, the train operates on its own without a driver as the signalling system drives the train. It also has an option for manual operations,” he said. It is the latest in train technology. “Better to incorporate it now than order the regular ones now and integrate them at a huge cost later,” he added.
All of them will be deployed only on the Yellow Line. All infrastructure for the 19.15-km RV Road-Bommasandra line via Electronics City and Central Silk Board is ready, but cannot be used as it requires these special coaches.
The shells of coaches for two train sets have already reached Titagarh and they are being readied. “A total of 21 trains are regular Distant to Go (DTG) and will be used for Phase-I extension lines,” he explained. China will send the first prototype later.
The line can become operational only by September due to numerous tests and permissions to be done, said multiple Metro sources. Different dates have been announced by politicians and the Governor, too, recently.
Four-year-long journey
A month after the four-year deadline expired for the Rs 1,578 crore contract to supply 216 coaches (36 train sets) for Bengaluru Metro by China’s state-owned firm, the first set of six coaches for a driverless train arrived last week. The train began its journey from Shanghai port three weeks ago and reached here via Chennai.
The arrival of the train should give relief to both BMRCL and CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd which had fought a bitter battle among them due to the long delay. The contract inked in December 2019 mandated supply of 36 train sets before December 2023. With not a single train supplied after issuing several notices to the firm, BMRCL decided to encash its bank guarantee of Rs 372 crore. The concern approached the High Court in December 2021.
A top source said, “The reason for the delay was that China had to manufacture 94% of the coaches in India under the government’s Make-in-India policy. It was unable to find a local manufacturer here to assemble and test it. Finally, the tie-up with Titagarh Rail in West Bengal was formed, paving the way for its manufacture.”