PM inaugurates India’s first-ever driverless train operations on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first-ever driverless metro train operations in Delhi on December 28. PM inaugurated this by video conferencing. The National Common Mobility Card was expanded to the Airport Express Line of Delhi Metro, which was started in Ahmedabad last year.
On the occasion PM Modi said that “Preparing the country for future needs is an important responsibility of governance.”
Modi lamented the fact that a few decades ago, when the demand of urbanisation was felt, there was not much attention given to the needs of the future, half-hearted work was done and confusion persisted.
Modi added “Unlike this, modern thinking says that urbanization should not be seen as a challenge but used as an opportunity to build better infrastructure in the country, an opportunity through which we can enhance Ease of Living. This difference of thinking is seen now in every dimension of urbanization.”
On the metro rail network and projects in India – he said that “In 2014, only 5 cities had metro rail and today, metro rail is available in 18 cities. By the year 2025, we are going to expand it to more than 25 cities. In 2014, only 248 km of metro lines were operational in the country and today it is about three times, more than 700 kilometers. By the year 2025, we are trying to expand it to 1700 km.”
The Prime Minister said the metro today is no longer just a medium of public transport but a great way to reduce pollution. Thousands of vehicles have been reduced from the road due to the metro network, which used to cause pollution and jam.
The Prime Minister said for the expansion of metro services, Make in India is important. Make in India reduces costs, saves foreign exchange, and gives more employment to people in the country itself. Standardization of rolling stock has reduced the cost of every coach from 12 crores to 8 crores now. Today, four big companies are manufacturing metro coaches in the country and dozens of companies are engaged in the manufacture of metro components. This is helping Make in India as well as the campaign for self-reliant India.
The Prime Minister said with the achievement of Metro Rail without a driver, our country has joined the select countries of the world where such facilities are available.
Talking about the Common Mobility Card, the Prime Minister said that providing the same standards and facilities for modernization is very important. The Common Mobility Card at the national level is a major step in this direction. This one card will give integrated access to the commuters wherever they travel, whichever public transport they take.
Taking the example of the Common Mobility Card, the Prime Minister dwelled on the process of consolidating all the systems. Through such consolidation of systems, the strength of the country is being harnessed in a more coordinated and efficient way. “Like One Nation, One Mobility Card, our government has done many things in the past years to integrate the systems of the country,” Modi said.
