Queues outside Metro stations spilling on to markets: Traders

Metro officials admitted that crowding was happening around busy stations, and those that serve as interchange facilities.

Long queues outside Metro stations are causing crowding and traffic snarls in markets around stations, a delegation of traders told Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) managing director Mangu Singh on Thursday, officials and members of the delegation said.

Long queues, like the one at Janpath Metro station, have become a common sight ever since the Metro resumed operations on June 7. (HT Photo)

Long queues outside Metro stations, especially during peak hours, have become a common sight ever since the Metro resumed operations on June 7. The passenger load has almost doubled in the past fortnight, Metro officials said. On June 7, 680,000 passenger journeys, or trips, were carried out. This increased to 1.3 million on June 18. On June 20, 848,000 trips were operated and 852,000 on June 24.

The delegation included members of the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI).

“Since Metro services reopened after the Covid-19 lockdown, only limited number of gates are kept open and entry and exit are managed from the same gate. We have asked DMRC to allow more gates to be opened and also to increase the frequency of trains so that crowd does not spill over to markets,” said Brijesh Goyal, chairperson, CTI.

Goyal said more entry and exits should be opened at stations around markets such as Chandni Chowk, Kashmere Gate, Red Fort, and Rajiv Chowk. Traders said the intermittent closure of Metro gates to ensure social distancing on the network was causing crowding on roads near stations, and in parking areas.

Metro officials admitted that crowding was happening around busy stations, and those that serve as interchange facilities. They added that strictly ensuring Covid-19 protocols inside and outside its premises was critical, leading to a number of gates not being used, and rigorous checks were being carried out to avoid crowding at stations.

DMRC officials that the government guidelines for Covid management allow only alternate seats to be used, and do not permit standing. This means that the passenger carrying capacity has been reduced to 10-15% of the normal, the officials said. Another senior official said that each coach now carries 25-30 passengers, compared to about 300 earlier.

“The long queues are caused as only single-entry points are permitted at most of the Metro stations. In a mass transit system, it is difficult to regulate the number of people inside the system once full entry is permitted,” said Anuj Dayal, executive director (corporate communications).

Though the passenger carrying capacity has been curtailed, the Metro is conducting about 5,100 train trips every day at a peak frequency of 2.5 minutes to 5 minutes on major corridors. “This was the same frequency at which the Metro was operating during the pre-Covid times. The Metro is operating and running at its full frequency/capacity but with a reduced number of passengers due to restrictions,” Dayal said.

But experts said that the agencies will have to ensure that while Covid norms are followed inside the Metro system, crowding is controlled outside stations.

Sewa Ram, professor of transport planning at the School of Planning and Architecture, said a mass transit mode such as the Delhi Metro was designed to carry more standing passengers than sitting ones, adding that reducing the carrying capacity of trains to 10% (calculated based on pre-pandemic passenger traffic) will push the system to more losses. He pointed out, at the same time, that it was important Metro stations and trains do not become infection hot spots.

“We really need to plan this carefully. It is important that rather than putting the entire onus of ensuring social distancing on the Metro, the government also play its part by controlling passenger load by staggering market hours, office timings, etc,” Ram said.