'METRO TRAINS MAY NOT STOP AT CROWDED STATIONS', AND 'OTHER' STRICT GUIDELINES ISSUED TO PASSENGERS! - REPORT

As the norms of lockdown are being slowly liberated to normalcy, metro rail services have been instructed to begin in a few days. According to the centre’s orders, several metro lines will start from September 7 and all corridors will become operational starting from September 12.

Delhi, Noida, Chennai, Kochi, Bangalore, Mumbai Line-1, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Maha Metro (Nagpur), Kolkata, Gujarat and UP Metro (Lucknow) are prepared according to a report in the Hindustan Times.

“Daily hours of operations may be staggered initially, which needs to be increased gradually with resumption of full revenue service by September 12, 2020. Frequency of trains to be regulated to avoid passenger crowding at stations and in trains,” the Standard Operating Procedure said. Only asymptomatic people are allowed to travel.

However, Maharashtra’s state government has said that the state will not open metros in September 2020. “Hence, Mumbai Line-1 and Maharashtra Metro operations shall commence from October, 2020 or as state Government may decide further,” Hardeep Puri said at a press conference.

“There will be marking across stations for maintaining social distancing and even inside the trains on the seats. Passengers must ensure that they adhere to it, we are monitoring each and every location through video cameras through central control rooms and if at any station these norms are violated or crowding takes place the instructions are that metro trains will not stop at those stations. We have even added this in the SOP,” housing affairs secretary Durga Shanker Mishra said.

“Emphasis has to be on review and caution. We are very clear in our minds that this opening up in a graded and calibrated manner will need to be reviewed. If we find that the resumption of operations is not resulting in social distancing either at the metro stations or if there is crowding or trains are getting congested…we might have no option but to review all these arrangements. So I am appealing through the media to all the consumers that while we welcome the resumption of metro services, a decision which was been taken after very careful and deep consideration, the buzz word is ‘caution’ and ‘care’…resumption of economic activity is imperative but it has to be done in a careful and calibrated manner,” Puri said.

“Adequate dwell time at stations will be provided to enable smooth boarding and de-boarding ensuring social distancing. Metro rail corporations may also resort to skipping of stations to ensure proper social distancing,” Puri added.