Driver started metro train before getting signal: DMRC

The driver of the metro train, which jumped the rails, started the locomotive manually before the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) got conceptualised, eventually leading to its derailment.

Metro train no. 5015 plying between Dwarka and Yamuna Bank stations jumped the tracks yesterday afternoon at Dwarka, seconds after it started from the station.

"The accident took place due to a manual error by the train operator. He started the train on its own before the Automatic Train Protection got conceptualised. He should have waited for the ATP. But, he did not," a highly-placed DMRC source said.

Line 1 (Dilshad Garden-Rithala) and Line 3 (Yamuna Bank-Dwarka Sector-9) of the Delhi Metro runs on ATP, while Line 2 (Central Secretariat-Jahangir Puri) runs on Automatic Train Operation.

DMRC has yesterday suspended the driver and had ordered an inquiry into the incident, in which no one was injured. The four-member panel will submit its report within a week.

The sources explained that on Line 1 and Line 3, the train operator is guided by the ATP and he has to follow the instructions. In trains which run under ATO a driver is not really necessary as the train runs automatically.

"In yesterday's case, the train operator did not wait for the ATP conceptualisation. Since the train had just started from the station, there was no major damage," the source said.