The Delhi Metro’s “missing link” on the Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar Pink Line corridor is set to begin passenger operations from Friday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will inaugurate it through videoconferencing.
The inauguration comes at a time when the Delhi Metro is running at a reduced carrying capacity due to restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic.
With the opening of this stretch between Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake, the entire 59 kilometre Pink Line will become operational.
CM’s appeal
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Thursday yet again appealed to the commuters to travel during peak hours only when “absolutely necessary and as far as possible plan the journey during off-peak hours to avail better capacity and avoid long queues.”
Since the resumption of metro services on June 10, after the second wave of the pandemic, long queues have been spotted outside metro stations as a result of regulated entry to stations. Stations with low footfall have one gate open while those with a high footfall have two operational gates, till date.
The DMRC in a statement said: “Recently, random incidents have also been reported from across the network during peak hours wherein, impatient passengers have tried to barge into metro stations breaking the queues, opening or damaging the gates forcibly, manhandling the DMRC and CISF personnel on duty, in violation of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour.”
The metro, currently is operating with a 100% seating capacity, which can accommodate 50 passengers per coach. According to the DMRC, with 2,000 coaches in operation, the total seating capacity available is around 1 lakh while more than 2 lakh passengers come to metro stations per day during peak hours.
Fewer gates
“In order to regulate the entry of passengers, it is necessary to restrict the number of gates. If more gates are opened, it will be difficult to regulate the number of passengers inside the trains,” the DMRC said.
The Pink Line became operational in 2018, except the segment between Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake due to a land-related dispute. Passenger operations on the stretch will commence at 3 p.m. on Friday, officials said.
