Metro rail services in India have reopened in major cities for the first time since the lockdown was announced in March, as part of ‘Unlock 4.0’ throughout the country. Ten cities with metro rails have reopened their services, with strict rules and guidelines around physical distancing.
Kochi Metro Rail's official handle tweeted, "It's a new dawn, a new day and we are feeling good. Have a safe journey with Kochi Metro."
Metro authorities in Kochi are undertaking screening measures, including thermal scanners. Trains are reported to be sanitised after each return trip, while steps have been taken to ensure that coaches are properly ventilated, by keeping doors open for longer than usual at stations and at the terminal station.
The resumption of metro services will see the trains operating at 10-minute intervals, as compared to the earlier six-minute interval.
The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) authorities confirmed that the train services will be operational from 8 am to 8 pm.
'The Blue Line,' which connects the airport metro station and Washermanpet Metro Station will commence from Monday, while the Green Line, which connects St Thomas Mount and Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M G Ramachandran Central Metro, will start functioning from September 9.
The CMRL has asked riders using the metro services to strictly adhere to the physical distancing protocols. All the trains and stations will reportedly be disinfected frequently for the safety and security of passengers.
Face masks are compulsory at all times in all CMRL premises. CMRL added that face masks and shields, gloves, and medical PPE kits will be arranged for frontline staff.
Passengers will have to undergo thermal screening at the entry-level. Symptomatic passengers or those having high temperature will not be allowed to use metro train services.
Social sticker markings were placed at all passenger moving/waiting areas within the station premises.
Inter-district bus transport and passenger train services within Tamil Nadu have also resumed from Monday. Both private and public bus operators will begin services again. Suburban train services, which were halted in March across the country, continue to be shut down.
On Monday, the Hyderabad Metro Rail services resumed its operations on the Red Line that ferries passengers on the Miyapur-LB Nagar route. NVS Reddy, the managing director told PTI that they are happy that they are permitted to resume the metro rail services. He added that they are taking all the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.
He noted that ordinary people were facing a lot of problems in reaching their places of work in the absence of transport. The Metro will run from 7 am to noon and 4 pm to 9 pm. Officials maintained that only asymptomatic patients will be allowed to travel. Alternate seating was introduced in the trains.
Passengers took to Twitter to share videos of markings at stations and inside trains that were done to ensure social distancing. People have reportedly acknowledged the efforts put in and said that the responsibility of their safety rests in their own hands. Many passengers also said that with public transport resuming, they will be saving a lot of money which was otherwise spent in taking private modes of transport.
After a gap of about 150 days, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) resumed Namma Metro services on Monday. The BMRCL is running services only on the purple line from Baiyappanahalli to Mysuru Road station. The staff undertook thermal screening of the passengers before allowing them inside the stations. Applying hand sanitiser before entering the station has also been made compulsory. Only passengers with smart cards were allowed to travel in the Metro.
Metros have been opening-up on a phase-wise basis and soon they are said to be fully functional.