In pursuance of the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ policy, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) had signed a MoU last year to develop jointly a ‘Rolling Stock Driver Training System (RSDTS)’, which will be useful for training drivers of metro/ railway trains.
The first prototype model of the indigenously developed Universal Driver Training Simulator for Rolling Stock (i-UDTS) was inaugurated by Shri. Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, at a ceremony held in BEL’s Ghaziabad Unit today. i-UDTS is designed as a Line Independent System, easily configurable and scalable for any current and future lines to meet the city metro requirements.
Dr. Mangu Singh, Managing Director, DMRC, M. V. Rajasekhar, Director (R&D), BEL, other Directors and senior officers of DMRC and BEL were present at the inaugural function.
Universal Driver Training Simulator for Rolling Stock (i-UDTS): The system will be useful for training metro and railway train drivers and also evaluating the driving skills of a working Train Operator, usually done periodically for safety considerations. This will be the first indigenously developed universal train driving simulator that can be suitably modified for any metro system or railways.
So far, DMRC has been importing this product from foreign OEMs, at a high cost. Also, the designs available with DMRC are suitable for use with a single type of rolling stock, signaling and track systems. It is extremely difficult and costly to make any changes at a later date. The i-UDTS being developed by BEL for DMRC has the provision for the same core software to be utilized for creating different combinations of rolling stock, signaling and line profiles, by merely changing the input data files, along with minor hardware changes in the driving desk, if required. This will enhance the flexibility of the training system and would result in major cost savings for DMRC, as the same system can be used for multiple stocks and different routes.
The training system being developed will have far superior features than those available today. This will be used in all metro rails of India and has export potential as well.
