India / Delhi Metro to run at peak hour frequency to prevent overcrowding

New Delhi: The Delhi Metro has decided to run trains at peak hour frequency all through the day from September 12, when services will resume at full scale across corridors. Metro said in a statement that it will do away with the concept of off-peak hour, between 11 am and 4 pm, when frequency was low.

The move is aimed at preventing overcrowding at station platforms as each train, adhering to social distancing norms such as alternate seating, can accommodate only a limited number of passengers.

So, between 8 am and 8 pm, trains will be available at the peak hour frequency range of 2 mins 45 secs to 6 minutes. During off peak hours, the gap between two trains used to increase.

On Thursday, 84,841 people took the Metro till 7.30 pm. Since September 7, when a little over 15,040 people had taken the Metro, there has been a steady rise in ridership and revenue earnings with the graded reopening of lines.

While the Metro had earned approximately Rs 10.6 lakh on ticket sales on September 7, it rose to around Rs 34.56 lakh by Wednesday.

“The actual utilisation of a Metro system is reflected from the number of journeys performed by a passenger in completing his/her journey by using one or more lines (passenger boardings or line utilisation) and not by ridership alone,” said DMRC chief spokesperson Anuj Dayal.

Before the pandemic, the Metro used to earn around Rs 9 crore from ticket sales on an average week day, when it sees ridership between 27 lakh and 30 lakh.

The last major lines of the network — 37.5-km long Janakpuri West to Noida Botanical Garden (Magenta) and the 4.3-km long Dwarka to Najafgarh (Grey) will reopen Friday. On Saturday, the Airport Line will also be pressed into service and usual operational hours of the network from 6 am to 11 pm will be restored.