Hyderabad Metro Rail service of Corridor 1 or the Red Line between L.B. Nagar and Miyapur will begin commercial operations from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. from today (Monday) onwards with the the new mandatory COVID-19 safety guidelines of compulsory face masks, social distancing and thermal screening before entry.
The public transport facility will be functional after a gap of more than five months in a graded manner with metro trains on Corridor 3 - Blue line between Nagole and Raidurg to run from Tuesday and from Wednesday, along with Corridor 2 - Green Line between JBS and MGBS, all the three routes will be busy from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
HMR Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy and L&TMRH Managing Director K.V.B. Reddy informed the media during the mock trial run on Saturday that pedal hand sanitising stands have been put up in all entry points and appealed to the passengers to travel light and help in maintaining social distancing inside the stations and the trains. While there will be a train for every five minutes as of now, the officials have made it clear that depending on the demand more services will be pressed into service. Markings have been made inside the stations and trains for social distancing and limited number of passengers will be allowed to travel in each train or about 1/3rd of the original capacity.
Coins usage as tokens has been dispensed with and passengers have been requested to go for smart cards or the QR code based tickets. ‘Arogya Sethu’ app is not mandatory yet passengers are advised to download for additional safety alerts. Those symptomatic have been asked not to travel and those found with such signs will be isolated in specially designated rooms at the stations. Health authorities concerned will be alerted about the same.
Gandhi Hospital, Bharat Nagar, Moosapet, Musheerabad and Yusufguda stations will be shut and trains will not halt here as these are located in ‘containment zones’. Touch points, stations and trains are to be disinfected thoroughly every few hours and at the end of the day while the air-conditioning has been reconfigured to let in more fresh air from about 30% to 75% adhering to the latest safety norms issued by the health authorities.
Mr. Reddy also informed that shops inside the stations will also be gradually opened and they too will be following all the newly introduced safety protocols. The metro rail officials are hopeful of passengers making use of the only public travel facility in the capital and numbers to rise gradually in the days ahead.
