As more lines reopen, commuters say travelling on Delhi Metro makes more sense with interchange facility

As Delhi Metro's Blue Line and Pink Line resumed services on Wednesday, commuters said travelling on the Metro made more sense with the availability of interchange facilities.

The Delhi Metro had resumed operations in a graded manner on Monday. The Yellow Line was the first to be reopened.

A lesser number of commuters travelled on the Metro on the first day. Many said non-availability of interchange facilities and a limited number of entry-exit gates caused delay and inconvenience.

Priyanka Singh, 21, who lives in Shahdara, took a Metro from the Karkardooma metro station.

"My brother dropped me at Karkardooma metro station. I have to go to Gurgaon where I work. Travelling on the Metro is of great help, especially when interchange facility is available,” she said.

Aniket Kanker, 28, who travelled from Vaishali to Saket for work, said he availed the rapid transport system only when services on the Blue Line resumed on Wednesday.

Vinay Singh, who boarded the Metro at GTB Nagar, said the resumption of the services was a huge sign of life returning back to normal.

"I am not sure about the last mile connectivity as I asked my friend to drop me at the Metro station. The interchange was smooth....," he said.

Raj Kumar, who boarded the Metro at Anand Vihar, said that he faced no inconvenience during his journey.

"There was no issue regarding social distancing. I have to go to Rajiv Chowk and the journey was smooth, but we are not sure during our journey which gate is open and which is not," Kumar said.

The Blue and Pink lines resumed services Wednesday morning after being closed for 171 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trains are to operate in batches of four-hour each from 7-11 AM in the morning and 4-8 PM in the evening in the first stage.

"The Blue and Pink lines resumed services today. Slowly and steadily, Delhi Metro will be back to take you places! #MetroBackOnTrack," the DMRC tweeted.

On Monday, the Delhi Metro had resumed services with the curtailed operation of the Yellow Line, since the closure of the urban transporter on March 22.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had recently issued guidelines allowing the Delhi Metro to resume operations in a graded manner, following which the DMRC had said it would be done in three stages from September 7-12.

Under stage one, Yellow Line or Line 2 and Rapid Metro were made operational with restricted service hours -- 7-11 AM and 4-8 PM.

While nearly 15,500 passengers availed the Yellow Line and Rapid Metro combined on Monday, the figures stood at nearly 17,600 on Tuesday. 

(Photo: ANI)