Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): After Indore, the Metro train trial run has been successful in Bhopal and in all likelihood by mid 2024, the residents of the might be able to enjoy the metro ride in the two cities. Interestingly a very few are aware that Metro trains have been designed to run on driverless mode.
In the initial phase, which will be up to two years, metro trains will be run by drivers so that passengers are able to develop confidence and faith in train operations and thereafter it will be operated driverless.
The entire metro project has been designed on the latest technology of Grade of Automation (GoA) 4 which makes trains capable of operating automatically including door closing, obstacle detection and handling emergency situations.
The Metro train operation comes in three grades including GoA-1, GoA-2, GoA 3 and GoA 4.
The Metro projects of Bhopal and Indore have been designed on GoA 4 technology. “ Madhya Pradesh is most probably the first state across the country which has designed its metro project on latest GoA 4 technology. Normally Metro trains run on GoA 2 technology,” said a senior officer of Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited.
Delhi Metro is learnt to have been using GoA 4 operation on two lanes but for this, it has to upgrade to GoA -4 technology from the older version of GoA-2 technology. In this sense, Madhya Pradesh is probably the first state to come up with a Metro project designed fully on the basis of GoA-4 technology.
After Madhya Pradesh, all other metro projects which are coming up or are in pipeline in other big cities of the country will be based on GoA-4 technology.
Whenever driverless operation of metro trains will be introduced in Bhopal and Indore, it would be a matter of great thrill to people.
Bhopal-Indore Metro designed on GoA-4 technology
Director Systems of Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited, Shobit Tandon told Free Press basically both the Metro projects (Bhopal-Indore) are designed on GoA-4 technology. This ensures the highest level of safety standards and energy conservation. “It will be after one and half years or two years of Metro train operation that we will gradually switch over to driverless operation in both the metro cities,” he said.
