Delhi Metro to run extra trips to cut vehicular pollution

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Tuesday said it will add 40 train trips on weekdays across the Metro network from Wednesday

A day after environment minister Gopal Rai held a high-level meeting to enforce Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Tuesday said it will add 40 train trips on weekdays across the Metro network from Wednesday to comply with the directions.

The additional metro trips is part of the measures under the Stage II of the graded response action plan (Grap). (HT Photo)

“As part of the various measures being adopted by the Delhi government to combat pollution under Stage-II of GRAP, DMRC will be running 40 additional train trips on weekdays (Monday to Friday) across its network starting Wednesday, October 25, 2023. This has been planned to intensify the use of public transport among passengers across Delhi-NCR,” said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, corporate communications at DMRC.

However, DMRC did not clarify the possible drop in the wait time after the addition of these 40 train trips. To be sure, DMRC undertakes over 4,300 train trips across its network in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) every day and the additional trips, which are just 40 in number, would not make a substantial difference.

A Metro official, requesting anonymity, said the train frequency varied from around two minutes on the Yellow Line (Millennium City Centre to Samaypur Badli) to around 10 minutes on the Airport Express Line (New Delhi to Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector 25).

Stage II was invoked across the city on Saturday, based on forecasts of the air quality deteriorating to “very poor” and the 11 measures under this category include augmenting the bus fleet and increasing the frequency of Metro services.

DMRC has a 393-km long network, spread across Delhi-NCR through 12 Metro lines (including the Rapid Metro in Gurugram and the Aqua Line in Noida) with a total of 288 Metro stations.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Monday held a high-level meeting to review the preparation of different agencies and departments to enforce Grap Stage II. Rai also issued directions to DMRC and the transport department to increase the frequency of Metros and buses.

“We have decided to increase the frequency of Metro and DTC buses under Grap. DMRC has been directed to reduce it to 5-6 minutes wherever the frequency every 7-8 minutes,” he said on Monday.

Stage II of Grap was invoked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Saturday after the air quality deteriorated in the Capital with an AQI reading of “poor”. Delhi has only recorded one “very poor” air day so far this winter season, on Sunday, when the AQI was 313.

The measures under Stage II category include strict enforcement of the ban on diesel generator sets, ensuring an uninterrupted power supply across NCR, enhancing parking fees to discourage the use of public transport and augmenting bus and Metro services by inducting additional fleet, among others.