New Delhi: After being closed since March 22 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, metro train services in Delhi will be allowed to operate with effect from September 7 in a ‘calibrated manner’, as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced Unlock 4.0 guidelines, allowing more activities outside the containment zones.
MHA in its new Unlock 4.0 guidelines said, “Metro rail will be allowed to operate with effect from 7th September 2020 in a graded manner, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA)/ Ministry of Railways (MOR), in consultation with MHA. In this regard, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be issued by MOHUA.”
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that he was “glad” the *metro services will resume operations in a phased manner.
“As per the latest guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs under Unlock-4, the Delhi Metro will be resuming its services for public from September 7 onwards in a calibrated manner,” the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a statement.
Further details on the metro’s functioning and its usage by the general public will be shared once a detailed SOP is issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in the next few days, the officials said.
The DMRC had last week said that the DMRC shall be prepared to resume operations whenever directed by the government.
Here’s how Delhi Metro may operate from Sept 7
•New smart cards with auto top-up facility, stickers on social distancing norms will be pasted on seats and platform floors.
•Inside metro premises like stations and train coaches, wearing of masks will be mandatory and social distancing norms will be followed as per government guidelines, and people not wearing masks will not be allowed to enter metro premises, officials said.
•Trains will halt for longer duration than on regular days to allow commuters to board coaches and alight from it while maintaining physical distance. Also, number of persons permissible to board a lift will be reduced in view of social distancing.
•One train coach can accommodate about 50 passengers on seats and a total of nearly 300 riders in the entire compartment, including standing commuters. With social distancing norms, this number will reduce drastically.
•Among other measures, red lines have been drawn at regular intervals next to AFC gates and security checking gates, just before commuters enter near the platform area.
•On platform floors, large stickers bearing ‘Ensure Social Distancing’ message have been pasted at regular intervals, with a while circle bordered by an outer red circle, to alert commuters.
•Thermal scanners will take temperature of commuters while entering and hand sanitiser will kept for them too.
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