New Delhi: With the rush at Metro stations increasing, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has decided to run trains at quick intervals or at “peak hour frequency” between 8am and 8pm. Metro officials say the decision has been taken to “break the peak”, with occupancy touching 100% on several lines during peak hours.
Anuj Dayal, executive director, corporate communications, DMRC, said, “DMRC also introduced peak hour frequency of trains from 8am to 8pm to provide better occupancy. We are doing away with the concept of off-peak hours from 11am to 4pm where services were available with less trains/trips earlier.”
Currently, the frequency of trains during peak hours is between 2 and 5 minutes whereas during off-peak hours is 8-15 minutes.
Metro officials said, on five sections-- Dilshad Garden to Shastri Park, Mundka to Kirti Nagar, Kirti Nagar to Mandi House, New Bus Adda to Dilshad Garden and Escorts Mujesar to Badarpur—the train occupancy is almost 100% of the allowed capacity.
The Metro started its full-scale operations from September 12. Since then it has seen a gradual rise in ridership. According to DMRC officials, the line utilisation is around 9-10 lakh daily.
Dayal said, “It has been observed that certain sections of the Metro network as given below are showing a trend where occupancy is touching 100% mark during morning and evening peak hours whereas during off-peak hours the occupancy in the same sections is in the range of 30-50% only. This leaves ample scope for people to stagger their travel from peak hours to the extent possible and have hassle-free travel with social distancing in place.”
{{/usCountry}}Dayal said, “It has been observed that certain sections of the Metro network as given below are showing a trend where occupancy is touching 100% mark during morning and evening peak hours whereas during off-peak hours the occupancy in the same sections is in the range of 30-50% only. This leaves ample scope for people to stagger their travel from peak hours to the extent possible and have hassle-free travel with social distancing in place.”
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