Delhi Metro launches first India-made i-ATS signalling system

In a major development in the country’s rail-based mass transit, Delhi Metro today launched India’s first ever indigenously developed Train Control & Supervision System. Jointly developed by Navratna Defence public sector undertaking Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the i-ATS (Indigenous – Automatic Train Supervision) has been installed for operations on the Red Line from Rithala to Shaheed Sthal in the national capital, according to an official statement.

India has now become the 6th country to join the elite list of nations which have their own ATS products.

This indigenous signalling system has been produced by DMRC under the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ initiatives for Metro Rail Transit Systems.

Beginning with the 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. Preventive Maintenance modules will also be introduced in the Phase 4 corridors using i-ATS. 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, the statement explained.

The development of the i-ATS is a major step towards the development of an indigenously built CBTC (Communication Based Train Control) based signalling system for Metro railway since the ATS (Automatic Train Supervision) is an important sub system of the CBTC Signalling system. ATS is a computer-based system, which manages train operations.

This system is indispensable for high train density operations such as the Metro, where services are scheduled every few minutes. Technology systems such as the CBTC are primarily controlled by foreign countries.

The deployment of i-ATS will significantly reduce the dependence of Indian Metros on foreign vendors dealing with such technologies. As part of the ‘Make in India’ & ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ initiatives of the Government of India, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had decided to indigenise the CBTC technology.

To take the project forward, BEL and DMRC had entered into a MoU in November 2022. A dedicated team of BEL and DMRC are working together to prepare the technology for operations. A full-fledged i-ATS Lab, set up at DMRC’s IT Park to simulate the site requirements, is now being upgraded for development of CBTC.