Travelling in Metros is a lifestyle for us Indians. It adds convenience to our daily commutes and plays a major role in making our travel costs bearable. With technology advancing, Chennai Metro Rail has decided to bring into action driverless trains to function along with the driver-controlled ones.
The Chennai Metro Rail’s driverless metro is a part of the Rs. 61,843 Crore Phase-2 project and is set to begin from 2026. In a report done recently, the Phase-2 project will have 138 three-coach driverless trains that will be purchased.
The driverless trains will be purchased in three separate contracts for three routes, Madhavaram to SIPCOT (corridor 3), Light House to Poonamallee (corridor 4), and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur (corridor 5).
According to a Chennai Metro Rail official the trains will be tested thoroughly for over a year before they go out for public service. The final design of the train will be ready in a month’s time and the first batch will consist of 26 trains.
The first batch of driverless trains will work between Ponnamallee and Porur and will be delivered by mid 2025 before testing commences. The Phase-2 lines will run for 118.9km with 128 stations through the distance.
To tackle any issue the driverless trains face in the first few operational years will be taken care by individuals present on-board the train from the CMRL. Chennai Metro Rail also plans on retaining their staff for the first three years of the launch.
The driverless trains will step up the tech game for public transport as the country has not seen anything like this, especially in the public sector. It is unknown whether the Government plans on extending it beyond Chennai, but will most likely take the decision based on the success seen.
