Metro guidelines under Unlock 4 likely to be announced today: Here’s what to expect

The ministry of housing and urban affairs is likely to announce the Metro guidelines one Wednesday afternoon.

The government is likely to announce on Wednesday the fresh set of standard operating procedures (SOP) to resume Metro services under the Unlock 4 guidelines.

Stickers pasted on seats for adherence of social distance as commuters are seen inside metro during a mock drill, at Sector 51 metro station, ahead of resumption of metro services in Noida.(Sunil Ghosh /HT File Photo)

According to people familiar with the development, the ministry of housing and urban affairs held a meeting with metro corporations to finalise the modus operandi. The guidelines are likely to be issued today following the ministry of home affair’s approval.

Here’s what to expect

--Services to resume on Sept 7: Metro services are set to resume “in a graded manner” from September 7 in the fourth phase of Unlock announced by the home ministry on Saturday. The services will resume after nearly six months remaining suspended due to the restrictions in place to prevent the Covid-19 outbreak.

-- Hardeep S Puri to announce SOP: The SOPs already circulated were discussed on Tuesday through VC by D.S Mishra, Secretary, MOHUA with managing directors of 15 metro rail corporations. The suggestions were considered in the meeting and accordingly SOPs are being finalised. MOHUA minister Sh Hardeep S Puri, will be announcing SOPs/guidelines in this regard on 2nd September,” ministry spokesperson Rajeev Jain said.

--Services may not resume at all stations: Corporations have been asked to prepare a list of stations where trains will begin operations in consultation with the state governments.

--Wear masks, practise social distancing or face fines: Commuters will be required to strictly adhere to guidelines on wearing masks and practicing social distancing norms. The passengers may be fined if they fail to follow Covid-19 norms, officials have said.

--No tokens, only metro cards: Those opting to travel in metro trains won’t be allowed to use tokens anymore. The Centre has planned on implementing a contactless ticketing system using only metro cards, once restrictions on public transport are lifted, according to earlier reports.

-- Metro rail companies can have their own rules: Based on the virus condition in a particular area, metro rail corporations are free to impose their own restrictions, officials had told HT earlier.

--Few stoppages, mandatory thermal screening: In order to keep the coronavirus disease from spreading, there are likely to be fewer stoppages and stations will be opened in a stations in a phase-wise manner. Passengers will undergo mandatory thermal screening, will have to wear face masks, practise social distancing, and use contact-less ticketing system, etc, an official aware of the development had said.

--Marking for queues: To make sure metro stations do not get crowded and social distancing is followed, markings for queues across all stations are likely to be done. Also, there might be an overhaul in the air conditioning system inside the trains to ensure supply of fresh air.