Strict Social Distancing And Thermal Screening: How Delhi Metro Could Operate Once It Resumes
The Delhi Metro, the lifeline of the national capital could resume services as early as next week, reports have claimed. Delhi Metro had suspended service in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Delhi Metro, the lifeline of the national capital could resume services as early as next week, reports have claimed.
Delhi Metro had suspended service in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though DMRC has not officially confirmed the date to resume operations, it said that it was prepared to resume operations whenever directed by the government.
But traveling on the metro is going to be much different than it was before COVID-19.
Agencies
Delhi Metro not the same anymore
To start with, the number of entry points to Delhi Metro stations will be heavily curtailed to ensure compliance with COVID-19 distancing norms.
BCCL
"The DMRC has 10 lines spanning 242 stations with 671 entry points. Whenever the services resume, only 257 gates and frisking sides are planned to be kept open to comply with COVID-19 safety norms," a source told PIT.
Ensuring all norms followed
While cases have again begun to rise in Delhi in the past one week, the DMRC has been working on protocols to handle commuters in adherence to COVID-19 safety guidelines.
BCCL
The preparations include new smart cards with auto top-up facility and stickers on social distancing norms pasted on seats and platform floors.
Customers will no longer be able to buy tokens to travel on metros.
Passengers will be thermal scanned by CISF personnel wearing a face shield, face mask, and gloves at door-frame metal detector and the fracking process will be contactless.
Not more than 50 people will be allowed inside the coach, this is nearly a sixth of the usual amount of passengers travelling in a single coach, on an average day.
BCCL
In order to put stricter hygiene standards in place, hand sanitizers will be installed at the metro stations.
In the elevator, only three persons will be allowed and on escalators, commuters would have to stand on alternate steps, maintaining 2.5m distancing.
The frequency of the train will be less initially and scaled up based on demand.
Passenger will only be allowed entry after checking their status on the Aarogya Setu app and masks will be ¡°necessary¡±.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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