The average ridership — number of passengers travelling — through Chennai Metro Rail from Koyambedu to Alandur has seen a dip lately.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the ridership currently ranges between 9,000 and 10,000 on weekdays.“During the four days of the floods in December 2015, ridership soared, and even scaled the one-lakh passenger mark on some of these days. Following the floods, the average ridership, which was at 9,000-10,000 passengers on weekdays, rose to 12,000. This lasted for about three months. But for weeks now, the ridership has returned to the 9,000–10,000 range,” an official said.
They said they had not been able to gauge the exact reason for the dip in ridership. The stations that witness the greatest footfall on the stretch are Alandur and Koyambedu with about 5,000 and 3,000 respectively; and the ones with lowest footfall are Arumbakkam and Ekkatuthangal with about 900 and 1,600 respectively.
Chennai Metro Rail was launched in June last year on the 10-km stretch between Koyambedu and Alandur. Four trains are currently running on this stretch and each train has a carrying capacity of 1,200 passengers.
