The Delhi Metro, known to be the lifeblood of the national capital, is set to get back on track as of Monday after pausing for nearly six months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The resumption of services in a phased manner came at a time when reports suggest that Delhi is witnessing a “second wave” of viral infection.
On Monday and Tuesday, only the yellow line, which covers 49 kilometers with 37 stations consisting of 20 underground and 17 elevated stations, will remain operational for a period of four hours each in the morning from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. afternoon from 4 pm to 8 pm.
The government has allowed metro rail service to resume in an attempt to revive the economy, while taking into account the huge losses suffered by the corporation in recent months.
Although the government has claimed time and again that both life and livelihood are important, several epidemiologists believe that the restart of the Metro will further increase infection in the city.
During the next five days, the rest of the lines will also be operational with all the security measures to control the spread of Covid-19 in the Metro facilities, forcing everyone to follow a new normal of social distancing, mask. and hand disinfection, “said Anuj Dayal, Executive Director of Corporate Communications for DMRC, quoted by IANS on Sunday.
People have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel as much as possible and have been advised to stagger travel times for office, home, and other jobs as much as possible, so that the ability to Freight offered with the new standards can be used reasonably by creating a travel pattern in which people do not rush to the station only in the morning or at peak times.
“Rather, people come equally at all hours of Metro service operating hours to ‘break the peak’, a requirement of today’s times. In addition to ‘Break the peak’, DMRC is calling for commuters to ‘Talk Less’ while traveling on the Metro to avoid the possibility of short-range aerosol transmission, “DMRC said in a statement.
To maintain order and regulate the flow of passengers with rules of social distancing, only one or two doors will be kept open for the entry and exit of passengers at a station.
DMRC said that in addition to regular front-line staff at the stations, it has deployed an additional about 1,000 officers and staff along the line to assist and guide passengers in the wake of new travel regulations that may take some time to adjust.
Although DMRC is doing its best to provide its passengers with a seamless and seamless travel experience, a train’s cargo capacity is drastically reduced to around 20 percent from the pre-lockdown period due to social distancing rules.
To avoid overcrowding in trains and stations, situations may arise where DMRC has to choose to start certain empty trains from terminal stations or short-circuit some trains to manage crowded areas on a particular route and section.
This dynamic regulation of the movement of trains will be based on the ground situation at certain times and one may have to skip one or two trains, which takes additional time to complete the journey.
In the same way, the dwell time is also increased from 10 to 20 seconds at the boarding-disembarking stations to ensure social distancing. This can also increase the total travel time on a trip by a few minutes. In view of these factors, passengers are advised to dedicate an additional time of approximately 15 to 30 minutes for each trip, to reach their desired destinations on time.
“Be a smart passenger and carry your smart card with you on your way to the subway. It’s contactless, easily recharged through online modes, and offers a discount of up to 20 percent on each trip,” the corporation added.
NCR updates on the DMRC website
The tokens will not be available at stations for the time being, as they require a frequent human interface for travel transactions and pose a risk of coronavirus infection, so a “smart card is a must for travel.”
Since the Delhi Metro operates in Delhi-NCR, it will not provide services to stations within the containment zones for any given day in either state. The state governments of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh report such areas on a regular basis on their websites.
If any of the stations falls in that area, it will also be made public through announcements in stations and trains and through updates on social networks. Since most of the subway stations are in the median of the roads, there is a small possibility that the stations will fall into the containment zone as a normal practice.
To better manage the crowds at the stations, DMRC is also in contact with the authorities to provide around 1,000 civil defense volunteers. Some important stations have also been identified where law enforcement agencies such as the local police etc. will be connected to monitor the law and order situation outside vulnerable areas.
Antigen testing, AC filter cleaning, and more for traveler safety
In addition, authorities have been asked to organize antigen testing of around 15,000 DMRC staff members who will be serving the public around the clock. This will go a long way towards ensuring a Covid-free atmosphere when running the services.
Trains will be disinfected at terminal stations. Similarly, once they return to the reservoirs after the end of the day, they will again be fully disinfected. The train doors will be kept open at the terminal stations to inject fresh air into the train.
Regular cleaning of metro stations will be guaranteed by prioritizing passenger movement areas such as lobbies, passageways, platforms. All areas of human contact: elevator buttons, escalator handrails, door contact points, customer service points will be disinfected at stations every four hours.
In an attempt to avoid people’s fear of contracting the coronavirus infection in closed and narrow subway compartments, the Delhi Metro Railways Corporation has modified the air conditioning system of trains to allow 100 percent entry. of fresh air.
The AC filters will also be thoroughly cleaned with a sodium hypochlorite solution every seven days, against the previous fifteen-day rule. In addition to this, previously only 30 percent of the fresh air was allowed inside the train, which has now been increased to its maximum capacity.
The use of the ‘Aarogya Setu App’ is also recommended to update the health status of passengers. All passengers must undergo a thermal test at the entrance.
Passengers who have a temperature will not be allowed to travel. They will be instructed to report to the nearest medical center. Only 2-3 people will be allowed in the elevator at a time.
For crowd management, monitoring will also be done through CCTV cameras installed in stations and trains. ‘Divyangjan’ travelers will be facilitated by trained customer facilitation agents who will ensure proper social distancing and disinfection.
The Delhi Metro operates 389 km of metro network with 285 stations in Delhi-NCR, including Metro Rapid at Gurugram and the Aqua Line of Metro Noida-Greater Noida. About 70 percent of its passengers used to travel with smart cards. Total passenger trips made in a day before Covid-19 got stuck in our country was around 60 lakh.
Preparation for services at Gurugram
The Gurugram District Administration will appoint a nodal official who will liaise with officials from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to facilitate Metro operations in the city.
The DMRC has five metro stations at Gurugram: Huda City Center, Iffco Chowk, MG Road, Sikandarpur, and Guru Dronacharya.
“For the smooth running of the Delhi Metro, we have decided to appoint a nodal officer who will stay in contact with the Metro officers for the smooth running of services at Gurugram,” said Amit Khatri, Deputy Commissioner of Gurugram.
Other than this, health officials said, the list of Covid-19 health centers and hospitals will be made available to the DMRC representative near the five subway stations that fall in the Gurugram district so far. If any passenger is found to be infected with corona, they can be sent there for further treatment.
(With input from IANS)
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