The Hyderabad Metro Rail has resumed its operations from Monday after a span of five months. The metro operations will commence in a phased manner keeping in place all COVID-19 guidelines and protocols.
On Monday, the metro services will resume only on the Redline along Miyapur to LB Nagar corridor. Trains will be operated from 7 am to 12 noon and from 4 pm to 9 pm.
The Nagole to Raidurg stretch will be made operational from Tuesday with the same timings.
From September 9, Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) to the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) corridor will also re-open, with services available from 7 am to 9 pm.
Frequency of trains will be around five minutes. It will be improved or decreased based on passenger traffic and to avoid crowding, said NVS Reddy, the managing director of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL).
Gandhi Hospital, Bharat Nagar, Moosapet, Musheerabad and Yusufguda, the five stations which fall in containment zones, will remain closed.
Read: Hyderabad Metro to resume from Sept 7: Five stations to remain closed
No person showing COVID-like symptoms will be allowed to enter the metro stations or board trains. It will be mandatory for all passengers to wear face masks.
Body temperatures of visitors, passengers will be taken upon entry and markings on the station floor have been done to maintain physical distancing. Alternate seating arrangements have also been made in trains that will carry a maximum of 300 passengers at a given time.
Security personnel have been deployed at the entry points to the metro stations to check the body temperatures of all entrants with hand-held thermal guns. In case a visitor has high temperature or shows any other medical symptom, the person will be taken to the isolation room at the station and provided medical assistance, informed Reddy, who appealed to the people with COVID-like symptoms like fever, cold and cough to avoid travel on the metro.
Authorities have also made elaborate arrangements for sanitisation, putting pedal-operated sanitiser dispensers at entry points. Sanitisation points have also been created for luggage before it passes through the x-ray machines.
The HMRL officials also appealed to prospective passengers to carry minimum luggage and not carry metal objects to make the frisking process hassle-free.
Passengers have been advised to carry sanitiser bottles/dispensers with them. Those entering the stations will also be advised to download the Aarogya Setu app.
Coins will not be accepted for the sale of tickets. The authorities will encourage the use of smart cards and mobile QR tickets with cashless/online transactions.
Reddy said that physical distancing would be monitored through CCTVs, station controllers, and train operators.
Waiting time for trains at the metro stations has been increased from 20 seconds to 30 seconds to ensure passengers don't come in contact while boarding or de-boarding.
Following the Unlock 4.0 guidelines issued by the Centre and the permission accorded by the state government, the HMRL decided to resume services in a phased manner.
The Hyderabad Metro suspended its commercial operations from March 22. It was operating 55 trains that ferried about 4.5 lakh passengers every day before the lockdown.
L&T MRHL, the private partner in the project, is estimated to have suffered Rs 300 crore loss during the last five-and-a-half months.
In February, with the launch of the 11-km stretch from JBS to MGBS, the Hyderabad Metro Rail become the second largest metro rail network in the country after Delhi, covering a distance of 69.2 km.
Barring the 3.78 km stretch from MGBS to Falaknuma, the entire project has been completed.
(With IANS inputs)