The driverless train during its trial run on the Yellow Line on Thursday evening. PHOTO BY
Credit: BMRCL
Bengaluru: Namma Metro sprang a surprise on Thursday evening as it started trial runs on the long-awaited Yellow Line in southern Bengaluru, deploying the Chinese-made, driverless train.
The trial run was supposed to start at the weekend.
The six-coach prototype train departed from the Hebbagodi metro depot's Inspection Bay Line-1 at 6.55 pm and chugged into the Bommasandra station — 1.3 km away — at 7.14 pm. The train started slow — at 10 kmph — and reached a maximum speed of 25 kmph, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said.
After a brief stopover, the train set out on its journey towards Bommanahalli — 12.5 km away — at 8.05 pm. It stopped at all stations en route: Biocon Hebbagodi, Huskur Road, Infosys Konappana Agrahara, Electronics City, Beratena Agrahara, Hosa Road, Singasandra, Kudlu Gate and Hongasandra.
The train then commenced its journey back to Bommasandra and reached its destination at 9.11 pm, the BMRCL said.
Testing engineers from Chinese train manufacturer CRRC Nanjing Puzhen and officials from the BMRCL's rolling stock, signalling and track maintenance departments were onboard the train.
The team carried out tests related to signalling and monitored the track condition.
In the days before the trial run, the train was assembled and moved to the test track at the Hebbagodi depot for static and electrical circuit testing.
Jitendra Jha, the BMRCL's Project Manager for Rolling Stock, had told reporters on Wednesday that they were working overtime to remove obstacles from the Yellow Line track to make it ready for the trial run.
The train undergo 37 tests over the next four months, followed by various tests over the next 45 days to integrate the signalling, telecommunications and power supply systems.
The train is equipped with the Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) technology that eliminates the need for a loco pilot. All driverless trains will be so well integrated with the signalling system that they can "talk to each other", preventing collision, the BMRCL said.
Other features include Artificial Intelligence-based track monitoring and obstacle and derailment detection.
Civil construction and track-laying on the Yellow Line (RV Road-Bommasandra, 19.15 km) have long been completed but the lack of trains has delayed commercial operations.
The BMRCL plans to open the line by the end of this year after receiving seven trains from CRRC.