Delhi Metro to inspect automated fare collection gates after reports of injuries

A senior Delhi Metro official said though safety inspections and maintenance of all machinery inside stations are conducted routinely.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has initiated an inspection of all automated fare collection (AFC) gates at its stations after complaints of minor injuries from commuters at some places.

Last month, another passenger highlighted how “under-maintained” machines were becoming a safety issue at crowded stations. (HT FILE)

A senior Delhi Metro official said though safety inspections and maintenance of all machinery inside stations are conducted routinely, DMRC had been receiving complaints about faulty AFCs from certain areas.

“We will look at fixing all gates, reprogramming them if necessary. In stations with a high volume of commuters, we will have a DMRC official monitoring the exit and entries at these gates,” a senior DMRC official said.

On Wednesday, a commuter named Tribhuvan Singh reached out to Delhi Metro, complaining that his daughter was “seriously injured” while passing through one of the gates at the Botanical Garden metro station in Noida.

“Due to faulty entry gate, my daughter got serious injury in the stomach at Botanical Garden metro station. As I have observed almost 50% your machines are faulty and a number of children get injured. Please consider this on priority,” Singh tweeted.

Last month, another passenger highlighted how “under-maintained” machines were becoming a safety issue at crowded stations. “The screens at entry are faulty and these gates just snap when you are passing. These under-maintained machines are dangerous,” tweeted Madhurima Khatri.

DMRC officials said the new open AFC gates shut if the tokens or travel cards are not scanned at the exit points. Passengers should ensure their cards and tokens have been read by the machine and cross the gates only when the screen shows a green arrow, indicating the fare had been deducted.

“The new gates were installed to manage crowds at stations better. Most passengers are not used to the open AFC gates. We are continuously informing commuters to step back and scan cards and tokens and only then cross the gates,” the Metro official said.