Kolkata targets 15 August for its first driverless Metro ride under the Hooghly

Kolkata’s East-West Metro could see its first driverless run under the Hooghly river as early as 15 August, according to officials working towards that target, though the date has not yet been finalised. The push follows approval from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) for the Northeast Frontier circle to commission driverless automatic train operation (ATO) across the Green Line’s full 16.6-km corridor, including two 520-metre tunnels beneath the river.

The clearance came after a driverless trial on the Sector V-Howrah Maidan corridor on Sunday, conducted under the supervision of CRS official Sumeet Singhal, with motormen stationed in the cabin to monitor the run. A day later, approval followed for communication-based train control (CBTC) on both the Howrah-bound and Salt Lake-bound lines. East-West Metro has used CBTC signalling since February 2020, and the system has now been upgraded to a significantly more automated stage.

Once ATO goes live, a driver will still remain on board each train, mainly to reassure passengers, even as the actual movement is directed from the Operations Control Centre at the maintenance depot in Salt Lake’s Central Park. In its five-page observation, the CRS said Metro Railway should standardise its rakes, all built by BEML, for uniform operation and consistent revenue generation.

Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), which is implementing the Rs 10,000-crore project billed as India’s first under-river transportation system, currently runs 17 such rakes, with 12 already in revenue service. From Monday, 14 more rakes will begin running in driverless ATO mode once each day’s commercial services end, as part of the broader fleet upgrade.

Over the past year, KMRC has trialled driverless operation using rakes numbered 606 and 603. With the automatic train protection (ATP) test now cleared, the corporation may add four more rakes to the network. Officials expect the driverless mode to eventually let the line run more frequent services once it is fully rolled out.

The Green Line currently operates on CBTC’s second stage, known as ATP mode, which is designed to enforce speed limits and prevent collisions through a combination of onboard and trackside equipment, a safety layer that will remain active once automatic operation begins.

[Wikimedia Commons/by ArnabSaha]