KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): Taking a significant step towards introducing driverless operations, the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Northeast Frontier Circle Sumeet Singhal conducted an inspection on the East–West corridor (Green Line) from the Howrah Maidan station terminal to Salt Lake Sector V, which includes India’s first underground metro tunnel spanning 520 metres under the river, allowing the trains to cross the river in 45 seconds.
The CRS wanted to ensure that all necessary arrangements were taken care of to handle any emergency occurrences during the driverless operations under the river. The services on this route began at 4:30 pm on 12th July, instead of 9 am for the inspections.
CRS Inspector Sumeet Singhal also visited the Central Park maintenance-cum depot to inspect the OCC, which serves as the brain of Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC). The train halted at all 6 elevated and 6 underground green line stations. The train was frequently stopped between stations to check how the system would act in emergency situations.
Following the inspection, once the official permissions from CRS are granted, the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation can begin driverless passenger operations on the 16.6 km corridor.
Also Read: Delhi Metro to build Residential Buildings above stations for housing and revenue