Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday unveiled the country’s first indigenously designed and developed driverless Metro car at the BEML manufacturing facility Bengaluru on Friday.

The minister, who visited the facility, said he was proud of the good work the team of engineers and technicians are doing at Bengaluru-headquartered BEML.

“They are the real warriors of Atmanirbhar Bharat, taking India ahead,” he said.

According to BEML, state-of-the-art driverless metro cars, being manufactured at the company’s Bangalore Complex, are made up of stainless steel body with a capacity of carrying 2280 passengers in six-cars Metro train-set.

BEML bagged a total order of 576 cars for Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)’s MRS1 project and the supply is scheduled progressively up to January 2024.

BEML recently opened its Depot office at Charkop Metro Depot, MMRDA, Mumbai for commissioning, testing and round-the-clock services for driverless Metro cars.

Secretary (Defence Production) Raj Kumar IAS, Secretary (Defence Production) and BEML Limited Chairman and Managing Director, Deepak Kumar Hota, were among those present on the occasion.

Hota said, “BEMLs foray into metro manufacturing has been a defining moment in the urban transportation scenario in India.”

Singh virtually launched the Aerospace Assembly Hangar, situated within BEMLs Bangalore Complex, and unveiled first indigenously manufactured Tatra Cabin by BEML.

At the BEMLs Bangalore Complex, Singh inspected the Rail Hangars, the array of BEML equipment on display (from its Defence & Aerospace, Mining & Construction and Rail & Metro Divisions) and the newly launched Industrial Design Centre.