Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off India's first fully “driverless” train on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line and the national common mobility card on Airport Express Line on Monday through videoconferencing. The first train started from Jasola Vihar-Shaheen Bagh station of the 37km Botanical Garden-Janakpuri West line. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri also took part in the event.
Modi said the driverless train showed how fast India was moving towards a smart system. While a metro system was discussed in Delhi for years, the first train ran due to the efforts of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
“When our government was formed in 2014, only five cities had Metro rail. Today, 18 cities have Metro rail service. By 2025, we are going to extend it to more than 25 cities,” Modi said. From 248 kilometres of operational Metro lines in 2014, the number now stands at over 700, which may get expanded to 1,700 km by 2025. “These are not just infrastructures made from brick stones, concrete and iron, but evidence of the realisation of the aspiration of the citizens and the middle class of the country,” he emphasised.
The national mobility card is part of the process of integrating the systems of the country like One Nation, One Fastag and One Nation, One Tax in form of GST to One Nation, One Power Grid and the country is now moving in the direction of One Nation, One Agriculture Market, Modi said. The card was introduced in Ahmedabad last year.
