The country’s first metro rail network, Kolkata Metro Railway, will resume its services to the general public from September 14. The railway metro service will begin in a staggered manner and initially the metro services will be available from 8 to 20 hours.
Kolkata metro services were suspended in the last week of March after a nationwide lockdown was imposed to stop the spread of covid-19.
The Kolkata Metro Railway will also offer special services for NEET applicants and their parents on September 13.
This service will be exclusively for the examined doctors and their guardians, said Metro Railway spokesman Indrani Banerjee.
Test takers will have to show NEET admission cards at the gates of Metro stations, he said.
The Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal shared the information about the resumption of Kolkata metro services in a tweet.
He tweeted, “Helping students in time of need, Kolkata Metro run special services for NEET applicants and their parents on September 13.
To improve comfort for general passengers, Metro services will resume in a phased manner beginning September 14 between 8 am and 8 pm.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Metro Railway has issued a series of recommendations for passengers before resuming its services.
Passengers will have to wear masks that cover their face and nose and disinfect their hands with disinfectant dispensers placed on each platform before boarding a train, a Metro Railway official said here.
Passengers can only use smart cards for travel and will need to download the Aarogya Setu app on their phones. She said no tokens will be used.
Passengers must control their body temperature by means of a thermal screen when entering a Metro station. They can use specific doors to enter and exit, the official said.
Metro authorities said that passengers who have symptoms of fever, cough or cold should not ride their trains.
He also advised the elderly and children not to ride a Metro train.
The official said that those who are found spitting at the stations will be penalized.
Metro authorities have decided to allow a maximum of 400 passengers on a train at a time and color-coded electronic passes will be issued to travelers via a link on their mobile phones to keep the number.
The SOP said that passengers will be able to reserve their travel space with a duration of one hour by accessing the URL pathadisha.com/metro.
“In the successful reservation of slots, passengers will receive an electronic pass on their mobile phone with information on the time slot, passenger name, origin and destination stations,” he said.
Entry to metro stations will only be allowed through electronic pass verification by state police, while RPF staff at stations will maintain close coordination with state police, he said.
No tokens will be issued to passengers and only smart card holders will be allowed, he said.
The SOP also said that only three passengers will be allowed in the elevators at the stations at a time.
He said that passengers will not occupy the seats in the coaches that are marked with an X.
To carry out a thorough cleaning and sanitation of the stations, Metro services will not operate on Sundays, he said.
The stop time will be increased to 30 seconds from the current 20 seconds to avoid rushing, the SOP said.
Kolkata Metro Railway General Manager Manoj Joshi inspected all stations between Park Street and Noapara on Tuesday before the resumption of Metro services. The senior official inspected the entry and exit gates of all stations on this section. He inspected markings within Metro facilities that will help Metro commuters maintain social distancing and also checked disinfectant dispensing machines at stations.
During his inspection, which spanned the two days, the general manager inspected the entrance and exit doors of all stations, Metro spokesman Indrani Banerjee said.
Joshi inspected markings within Metro facilities that will help Metro commuters maintain social distancing and also checked sanitizer dispensing machines at stations, he said.
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