ENGINEERING LESSONS : EPISODE 17 DELHI METRO DRIVERLESS TRAIN CRASHES INTO WALL
Driverless Train of Delhi Metro's Magenta Line crashes into wall
Incident date: Dec 2017
Location: Delhi Metro's Magenta line, Kalindi Kunj Metro Station.
Fatality : No
Driverless train of Delhi Metro's Magenta line crashed into a wall of Kalindi Kunj metro station. The Kalkaji -Botanical Garden metro line, the incident happened within the gated boundary of the station.
Delhi Metro's new generation trains that can be maneuvered without drivers are going to run on this route. Movement of these driverless trains would be facilitated by advanced Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling technology. Initially it is planned to operated by drivers for the initial couple of years.
12.64 km Magenta line was given the necessary safety approvals by Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS).
A trial train was moved from the workshop without testing the brake system as a result of which, while the train was moving up the ramp for washing, it rolled back and hit the adjacent boundary wall.
Staff who took charge of the train failed to check whether the braking system was active and should have taken to the rakes to the washing area. There the train went up a ramp and was supposed to stop, but since the brakes were inactive, the train rolled back causing this incident.
As per normal procedure prescribed, when a train enters the workshop, the brakes of the train are decommissioned so that the train and its systems including the brakes can be freely checked. As per procedure, once the train is again re-commissioned, the brakes should have been tested by the maintenance staff in the depot before the train leaves the shed. The train movement inside the workshop area is done manually and not by the signaling system.
Incident was mentioned as a manual error during maintenance and has nothing to do with the trials or passenger safety during future operations.
