After Indian Railways resumes services of certain special trains, India’s largest metro network prepares to run along the ‘coloured lines’ across parts of Delhi NCR once again. DMRC is expected to resume the metro services on certain routes with certain restrictions in the national capital. The Delhi Government has officially stated that the metro operation is ready to resume as they await for the Central Government’s final say.
As per the plan accessed by the PTI, there have been newly proposed safety and social distancing measures. These are as follows:
- While travelling, passengers should have the Aarogya Setu app installed on their devices.
- Passengers will have to take out all the metallic items with them, including metallic belts and buckles and so that these, along with their bags are scanned at the security checkpoints.
- The use of face masks shall be mandatory.
- Social distancing shall be followed at the line ups and security check-ups.
- Passengers with unusual temperatures or with symptoms of cold, cough, flu, etc. will be not be permitted to enter.
DMRC has already begun with exhaustive sanitization exercise, which involves cleaning and maintenance of 264 metro stations, over 2,200 coaches, over 310 rakes, over 11,000 escalators, and 1,000 lifts. Mechanised cleaning of metro stations is carried out regularly, which includes scrubbing, wet cleaning of areas such as concourse, passages, platforms, floors, stairs, associated equipment, etc, informed the DMRC. Cold-water high-pressure jet, battery-operated walk-behind automatic scrubber dryer, automated vacuum cleaner, steam cleaner, automatic escalator cleaners are being used extensively for cleaning purposes. Sanitizers have been kept at several places in the stations. Stickers and sign-boards have been put up at stations to ensure that travelers follow proper instructions pertaining to social distancing.
All systems of the metro including the signaling, tracks, electric wires, pantographs, etc. will have to be tested in great detail before the services are ultimately started. With these expeditious preparations, it’s expected that the rolling stocks of Bombardiers, Rotems, MELCOs, and BEMLs will soon be seen running, though only in certain areas initially.
Image Credits: DMRC official Instagram account( officialdmrc)
