The wait for the metro during 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. is set to become much less with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) planning to add 20 trains in its existing network.
Besides, the DMRC is also providing 210 extra train trips a day before and on Raksha bandhan (August 28, 29) in view of a general trend of increased ridership during that period over the years.
With the induction of 20 trains, the waiting period for commuters in Delhi Metro during off peak hours, 11 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. is set to go down across five corridors including the busy Blue and Yellow Lines from next week. A senior metro official explained that the trains being pressed into service during off peak hours from August 31 are from DMRCs existing fleet of trains instead of adding entirely new trains.
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“Few trains that don’t run during that period at the moment, due to various reasons including routine maintenance work, are being added to increase the frequency that generally falls during off peak hours,” the official said.
New frequency of trains on the busiest corridors, namely Line 2 (Yellow Line) and 3/4 (Blue Line) would be 2 minutes 45 seconds and 2 minutes 47 seconds each. It would be a marginal improvement from the current figures of 3 minutes 24 seconds and 2 minutes 52 seconds each.
Whereas on Red Line (Line 1), trains will run every 4 minutes 6 seconds instead of the present 5 minutes gap. On Violet Line (Line 6), the gap is coming down to 4 minutes 12 seconds instead of the present 5 minutes. "The above is being done in view of increasing ridership and after conducting a detailed operational and maintenance study so as to provide additional services to the commuters," a statement said. The special arrangements for Raksha Bandhan was being made to tackle a greater rush of commuters which was over 21.8 lakh passengers last year.
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PM likely to inaugurate Faridabad metro
The metro is going to make in-roads to the satellite city of Faridabad on September 6 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to inaugurate the much awaited Badarpur-Faridabad corridor.
The fully elevated service, extension of ITO-Badarpur line, will cover nine stations Sarai, NHPC Chowk, Mewala Maharajpur, Sector 28, Badkal Mor, Old Faridabad, Neelam Chowk Ajronda, Bata Chowk and Escorts Mujesar. The Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) had conducted trial runs on the corridor, covering a distance of 13.87 km, in April this year.
According to official estimates, presently the average ridership on it (Line 6) stands at around 1.92 lakh per day. Once fully operational, Line 6 will span from Kashmere
Gate to Escorts Mujesar having a length of 43.4 km, with a total of 32 stations including five interchange stations, namely Kashmere Gate, Mandi House, Central Secretariat, Lajpat Nagar and Kalkaji Mandir.
The DMRC is also providing 210 extra train trips a day before and on Raksha bandhan in view of
a general trend of increased ridership during that period over the years