Namma Metro services, which came back on track in a phased manner from Monday after a gap of over five months, extended the timing of operations. Trains began operating from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on both the Green Line and Purple Line from Friday. Peak hour frequency will be of five minutes and non-peak hour frequency will be of 10 minutes.
From Monday to Thursday, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had operated trains for only six hours a day from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 4.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., keeping in mind peak commuting hours.
Ajay Seth, MD, BMRCL, said that based on the footfall and demand, they would consider increasing the the number of trains and also further extend the timings.
“For the first few days, we ran trains for six hours a day. Three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening. Now we are running them for 14 hours a day. Depending on the response, we will take decisions on increasing trips or extending the timings,” he said.
Before the COVID-19 crisis, Namma Metro services were available from 5 a.m. to midnight (at Majestic).
Shankar A.S., Executive Director (Operations and Maintenance), BMRCL, said that the cap of 400 passengers per train would continue. “It has been five days since we have resumed our services. We are yet to reach 400 passengers per train. With the timings extended, we are expecting more ridership,” he said.
Ridership increasing
With the extension in timings, the BMRCL said the rise in ridership is “slow but steady”. On September 7, the first day of resumption of services on the Purple Line, 3,770 passengers travelled in Namma Metro. On September 8, the number went up to 5,031.
On September 9, when services on the Green Line also resumed, a total of 14,438 passengers travelled. On September 10, the number went up to 18,925 on both the routes. On September 11, as many as 29,114 people used Namma Metro.
