Safety challenge ahead of weekday

THE ACID TEST, METRO OFFICIALS SAID, WILL BE ON MONDAY, WHEN THE OFFICE CROWD POURS IN DURING THE RUSH HOURS

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro, six days after its graded reopening and more than five months after being forced shut owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, resumed normal services on all its lines on Saturday.

On Saturday, at least 152,845 people took a ride on the Metro system — 23,959 people more than Friday’s passenger count.

The acid test, Metro officials however said, will be on Monday, when the office crowd pours in during the rush hours and the social distancing and other security norms put in place as part of standard operating procedure is tested.

HT on Saturday travelled through multiple corridors of the system to see if Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was prepared to manage the increase in passenger load, now that all lines were functional.

At 6am on Saturday, when the gates were thrown open for passengers, the attendence in many Metro stations was thin.

The crowd, however, started picking up within a few hours, resulting in queues forming outside some stations by 10am, as passengers waited patiently to get their temperature checked, their hands sanitised and their baggage sterilised before being allowed entry.

Security staff ensuring distancing

Metro and security staff were seen rationing passengers in queues outside station premises to ensure minimal crowding while making sure all social distancing norms were adhered to.

The newly created flying squads were seen moving in and out of trains to ensure people were wearing masks at all times.

“The true test will be from Monday and we are prepared,” a DMRC spokesperson said.