Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveils India's first indigenously developed driverless metro train in Bengaluru

Defence Minister Rajanath Singh unveiled India's first indigenously designed and developed driverless metro car set in Bengaluru on Friday.

The state-of-the-art driverless metro trains, manufactured at the Bharat Earth Movers Limited's (BEML) Bengaluru plant, will be delivered to Mumbai metro progressively till January 2024.

The six-car train sets can carry 2,280 passengers and provisions have been made for carrying passengers' bicycles in the coaches. The cars will operate on 25 kV alternate traction power and are equipped with CCTV cameras.

The BEML said that it has bagged an order to deliver 576 cars (96 train sets) for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which is expected to commission two new lines with a total length of 35 km in the coming months.

Sources said the huge order has helped in cutting the price, adding that the driverless train sets cost only "about 6% to 7%" more than the conventional metro train sets.

While the driverless train unveiled last month by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was based on the technology provided by Hyundai Rotem, the one unveiled on Friday was fully designed and developed at the BEML's R&D facility in Bengaluru. "Our engineers have been working on it for some time now," an official said.

A release said that Singh, who spoke at the event, described BEML employees as the real warriors of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. “I’m proud of the good work the team of engineers and technicians are doing at BEML. I would also like to congratulate but bow before each and every member of BEML and wish that the wonderful work that is being done by the company should be made known to the nation. They are the real warriors of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, taking India ahead,” he said.

BEML Chairman and Managing Director Deepak Kumar Hota said the company's foray into metro manufacturing has been a defining moment in the urban transportation scenario in India.

BEML’s order book position looks healthy at over Rs 12,000 crores and may grow further with the government's push for indigenous technology and manufacturing, a release said.