CHENNAI: As office goers and air travelers passengers It comprises the majority of its commuters, accounting for 29% of the city’s 54-kilometre metro rail network. pre-covid Pedestrians come daily since the resumption of operations on June 21. A total of five passengers were caught for not wearing mask in the station premises and fined ₹400 each. CMRL’s pre-Covid average daily footfall was 1.16 lakh and its initial estimated footfall was 7.75 lakh.
On Monday, 29,091 passengers took the metro and it increased to 33,314 on Tuesday and 36,330 on Wednesday. Officials said most of them were office-goers and returning to their workplaces after the lockdown restrictions were eased and some of them were domestic air passengers. There were also many travelers who opted to buy tokens instead of using smart cards.
At present, trains are operated from 6.30 am to 9 pm with a frequency of five minutes during peak hours and every 10 minutes during non-peak hours. Only 50% occupancy is allowed and passengers are not allowed to travel standing. Apart from following other safety protocols to prevent the spread of infection, station and train staff are also keeping a watch on passengers who do not wear or remove their face masks inside stations or trains and penalize them. “The passengers are seen through cctv cameras. If a passenger is seen not wearing a mask on the train, an employee is asked to make the passenger wear it and collect the fine when the train stops at the next station,” said an official.
It took at least six months for metro stations to get back 80% of their pre-Covid numbers when services were resumed in September 2020, almost five months later due to the Covid wave. In March, an average of 90,887 passengers boarded Metro trains daily and within a few days the number crossed one lakh. This was also due to open the 9km line from Washermenpet to Wimco Nagar in February 2021.
Even as it was struggling to achieve its pre-Covid numbers and the second wave led to the shutdown of metro services again, CMRL has expanded into 31 stations and under elevated viaducts to boost revenue. Initiated provisional tenders for renting out their space. An official said, “We want to use the space effectively. Since these places are either in stations or close to our stations, we also hope that they will encourage more people to visit our train service.
On Monday, 29,091 passengers took the metro and it increased to 33,314 on Tuesday and 36,330 on Wednesday. Officials said most of them were office-goers and returning to their workplaces after the lockdown restrictions were eased and some of them were domestic air passengers. There were also many travelers who opted to buy tokens instead of using smart cards.
At present, trains are operated from 6.30 am to 9 pm with a frequency of five minutes during peak hours and every 10 minutes during non-peak hours. Only 50% occupancy is allowed and passengers are not allowed to travel standing. Apart from following other safety protocols to prevent the spread of infection, station and train staff are also keeping a watch on passengers who do not wear or remove their face masks inside stations or trains and penalize them. “The passengers are seen through cctv cameras. If a passenger is seen not wearing a mask on the train, an employee is asked to make the passenger wear it and collect the fine when the train stops at the next station,” said an official.
It took at least six months for metro stations to get back 80% of their pre-Covid numbers when services were resumed in September 2020, almost five months later due to the Covid wave. In March, an average of 90,887 passengers boarded Metro trains daily and within a few days the number crossed one lakh. This was also due to open the 9km line from Washermenpet to Wimco Nagar in February 2021.
Even as it was struggling to achieve its pre-Covid numbers and the second wave led to the shutdown of metro services again, CMRL has expanded into 31 stations and under elevated viaducts to boost revenue. Initiated provisional tenders for renting out their space. An official said, “We want to use the space effectively. Since these places are either in stations or close to our stations, we also hope that they will encourage more people to visit our train service.
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