The deployment of i-ATS will significantly reduce the dependence of Indian metros on foreign vendors dealing with such technologies.
In a first for rail-based mass transit in India, the first ever indigenously developed Train Control and Supervision System was launched on 18 February for operations on the Red Line of Delhi Metro.
The system called i-ATS (Indigenous – Automatic Train Supervision) system has been jointly developed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) under the Government of India’s ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ initiative for the Metro Rail Transit System.
Thus, it is for the first time, the Metro trains are running on an automated signalling system developed in our own country. The entirely locally-made system entered field trials on the Red Line in March last year.
With this milestone, India joins the elite club of five nations which have their own ATS products, after France, Germany, Japan, Canada, and China.
ATS (Automatic Train Supervision)
ATS is a computer-based system, which manages train operations. The system is responsible for monitoring and controlling the rail system to ensure that it conforms to an intended schedule and traffic pattern in order to optimize railway operations and service reliability.
This system is indispensable for high train density operations such as the metro, where services are scheduled every few minutes.
These technology systems have been primarily controlled by foreign countries and as such the deployment of i-ATS will significantly reduce the dependence of Indian metros on foreign vendors dealing with such technologies.
Beginning with Red Line, the i-ATS system will further be deployed for operations on Delhi Metro’s other operational corridors and the upcoming independent corridors of Phase 4 project as well.
In addition, i-ATS can be used in operations of other rail-based systems including Indian Railways. This technology has been developed with flexibility to work with different signalling vendor’s systems with suitable changes.
ATS-to-CBTC
Communication-based train control (CBTC) is a signalling system that uses communication between onboard and trackside equipment for train operation and control. CBTC has been widely adopted in recent years on monorails, commuter trains, metros, and other urban railway services.
As part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) roped in Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), DMRC and BEL and other associates to indigenise the CBTC technology.
To take the project forward, DMRC and BEL had entered into a MoU in November 2022. A dedicated team of DMRC and BEL are working together to prepare the technology for operations. A full-fledged i-ATS lab has been set up at DMRC’s IT Park to simulate the site requirements. It is now being upgraded for development of CBTC system.
The development of the i-ATS is a major step towards the development of an indigenously built CBTC based signalling system for Metro railway since the ATS is an important sub system of the CBTC Signalling system.