Delhi Metro moots fare hike and five-slab system
3 Aug 2015 12:28 AM GMT
The proposals, if accepted, would replace the existing 15 fare slabs ranging from Rs 8 to Rs 30. The new fares would be Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 30, Rs 40 and Rs 50, a Metro official privy to the developments said.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief Mangu Singh has repeatedly written to the ministry of urban development since 2012 in this regard, which has administrative control over the body.
Earlier this year, retired justice AK Shrivastava was named as the head of the fare fixation committee, but it was scrapped.
Delhi Metro can revise its fares only on <g data-gr-id="27">recommendation</g> of the three-member committee constituted by the Union government from time to time.
Apart from a person who is or has been a high court Judge, the committee comprises of the urban development secretary and Delhi’s finance secretary.
A Metro official said the fare revision has been “proposed <g data-gr-id="32">sometime</g> <g data-gr-id="31">ago</g> but no action has been taken till now. The round figures would also help us tackle the shortage of coins which is rising by the day”.
Fares were last revised in 2009 when the minimum fare was raised from Rs 6 to Rs 8 with the maximum fare being raised to Rs 30 from Rs 22.
Officials say, since then there has been more than 94 per cent rise in power tariff.
DMRC director (operations) Sharat Sharma had also stated that almost 40 <g data-gr-id="26">per cent</g> of Metro’s overall expenses <g data-gr-id="28">go</g> towards paying electricity bills.
Eight more Metros will run across the busiest corridors from today
Eight more trains will run across the Delhi Metro network from Monday after a decision was taken to augment it keeping in view a general trend of increased ridership in the months of August and September over the last few years.
The trains, which will ply during peak hours, have been distributed across the Metro’s busiest corridors.
The arrangement will continue for two months as of now although it may remain in place depending on the requirement, officials said.
“Basically, the trend is an outcome of a number of factors. It’s mainly because of the fact that new session of the colleges <g data-gr-id="66">commence</g> during this period. Also, the office-going public seems to be more regular probably due to less number of holidays,” a metro official said.
Keeping in view the expected increase of passengers, a study was carried out to prepare a plan to make sure that sufficient services were available for the commuters, DMRC said in a statement.
With the addition of two each on Yellow and Blue lines, the number of trains will go up to 55 and 64 respectively on the busiest corridors.
Trains will be available every 2 minutes 18 seconds on the Yellow Line and 2 minutes 30 seconds on Blue Line.
One train each is being added to Red Line, that connects Rithala to Dilshad Garden, and Green Line between Inderlok and Mundka. On Violet line, the number of trains is going up to 31 with the addition of two.
Frequency will see a slight dip on this line, as trains will be available every 3 minutes 22 seconds instead the current three minutes due to the upcoming launch of the extended section till Faridabad.
“The train maintenance wing of DMRC has reworked the entire maintenance planning so that more trains are made available to the general public of city and NCR region,” the statement added.
Next Story
