SYSTRA contributes to the rise of driverless metros in India

In India, SYSTRA has supported many metropolitan areas in designing their metro systems, contributing to more than 90% of all networks currently in service nationwide. Among them, the Delhi Metro is one of the most modern and on March 8 marked two major milestones on driverless lines:

The inauguration of the Majlis Park–Maujpur-Babarpur section on the Pink Line
The Deepali Chowk–Majlis Park extension on the Magenta Line.

SYSTRA at the heart of the design of Delhi’s driverless metro lines

Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line (Line 8) was the first to be designed with automation in mind. SYSTRA was involved in designing certain sections of its infrastructure. Shortly after it entered service, from 2020 to 2022, SYSTRA’s teams conducted a comprehensive review of all existing systems and proposed improvement measures, with the goal of installing fully automatic train operation systems to transition from GoA 2 (semi-automatic operation with driver) to GoA 4 (unattended train operation).

Furthermore, we are currently supporting the Contractor KPTL [Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited], who are working on the Magenta Line Extension (Part of Phase – IV) for the following:

Rigid OCS: Design Validation
Power Supply Design

I am proud that SYSTRA is supporting this new stage in the development of metros in India with the best technologies and expertise, enabling the expansion of the Delhi network, to which we have been contributing since the 1990s.
Hari Somalraju, Managing Director, SYSTRA India

A train on the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro

SYSTRA’s scope of work covered the study of all systems, including the OCC (Operation Control Centre), support in developing automatic operation procedures, power supply, maintenance and depots, rolling stock, signalling, and track.

In addition to Line 8, SYSTRA has also been involved in the Pink Line (Line 7), which at nearly 60km is one of the longest driverless metro lines in the world. It is now complete and offers a circular orbital route, the very first of its kind in India. SYSTRA India’s teams participated as early as 2011 in the execution studies for the line’s first section, inaugurated in 2019, and subsequently served as consultant for inspection and systems review with a view to automation from 2021 to 2026.

Future driverless lines for metros in India

Beyond Delhi, SYSTRA is also supporting the Mumbai Metro as it deploys new driverless lines. Since 2021, SYSTRA has been the General Consultant for systems on Mumbai Metro’s new automated Lines 5, 7A, and 9, a major contract that will equip these three lines with the most advanced automation systems, GoA 4.

SYSTRA has also contributed to the design of the Bangalore Metro, one of whose lines features GoA 4 automatic train operation. Among the driverless lines currently in the pipeline, six are located in Mumbai and two in Bangalore, with SYSTRA teams involved in some of them, notably Mumbai’s Orange Line, where SYSTRA serves as General Consultant for all systems, civil works, and the maintenance depot.