22 lakh used Metro on Rakhi eve

The Delhi Metro registered the highest ever ridership on the eve of Raksha Bandhan. HT reports.

The Delhi Metro registered the highest ever ridership on the eve of Raksha Bandhan.

HT Image

About 22 lakh (2.2 million) people travelled by the metro on Wednesday, leading to the highest revenue generation by Delhi Metro on a single day.

Last year on Raksha Bandhan, too, lakhs of commuters — 22.66 lakh — used the Delhi Metro to reach their destinations.

According to the detailed project report of Delhi Metro, the popular mass rapid transit system will register a daily ridership of 2 million by the end of 2011 and about 4 million after the completion of phase 3 by end of 2016.

"The festival was possibly one of the reasons for the sudden jump in ridership. On the eve of the festival, people go shopping and many who stay outside the city return home,” said an official of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

This was the second time, within a span of 10 days, that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation carried over 21 lakh passengers on a single day.

The Delhi Metro recorded the highest ever ridership figure of 21,95,999 on August 1, which surpassed its earlier record set on July 23, when 21,26,763 people travelled by the Metro.