Aqua Line to remain closed till May 31, strict passenger norms when service resumes
Noida
Noida
Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) on Saturday said that its Aqua Line service — that connects Noida to Greater Noida — will remain closed till May 31, after the Union home ministry issued a detailed set of guideline for lockdown 4.0. Ritu Maheshwari, managing director of NMRC said, “The Aqua Line service will remain closed as per government order.”
Recently NMRC had started gearing up to resume its services and made elaborate arrangements, like pasting stickers inside Aqua Line coaches and also in Metro stations to guide commuters to maintain social distancing. As per rules proposed by NMRC, only two persons can sit on the 4-seater bench and three persons can sit on the 6-seater bench in the train coaches. NMRC’s initiatives — aimed at ensuring adequate social distance — also included standing in queue at designated space ofone metre distance at frisking zones, platforms and inside the trains. On Saturday, workers had sanitized the stations and trains.
On Friday, NMRC had said that the commuters need to maintain at least 10 mm gap between AFC sensor and smart card /QR ticket to avoid touching. On escalators, a gap of at least two steps was to be maintained between two commuters. A maximum of three persons were to use the lift at one time and passengers should stand facing the wall panels of the lift to prevent face to face interaction.
NMRC has also pasted stickers on train seats advising people not to sit on marked seats. The officials said instructions will be displayed at platform to allow de-boarding of passengers first , ebfore commuters got on the trains, once the service resumes.
The crowd inside the train as well as at station/platform will be monitored through CCTV. In case of emergency, stoppages at the stations, that are overcrowded may be skipped after making announcement inside the train by train operator and at station by the station controller.
The NMRC has placed signages at all entry, exits, platform, lift gates, escalators and AFC gates with various guidelines, journey instructions, crowd management instructions, sanitization instructions and journey precautions. On Friday, NMRC said that ‘Aarogya Setu’ aap and temperature screening is a must for commuting on the Aqua Line.
