Delhi Metro strengthens crowd control measures, adds more trains

With newer sections taking it deep into the NCR and bringing waves of commuters to its fold, the Delhi Metro has strengthened its crowd control mechanism by increasing the number of trains by 21 per cent – adding new coaches and significantly reducing snags.

As a result of the spike, the frequency of trains have also gone up, especially on the network's busiest lines – connecting North Delhi's Jahangirpuri to Gurgaon's HUDA City Centre and Dwarka to Noida.

“We have added 136 new coaches to the existing fleet of trains, taking up the number of operational trains to 991, which was 819 in 2012-13,” DMRC Director (Operations) Sharat Sharma said. 

Sharma said authorities were focusing on the peak timings – from 8 am to 11 am.

“The rush is at its highest from 9 am to 10 am. To tackle it, we are not only running more <g data-gr-id="32">trains,</g> but directing more number of trains towards specific areas where the crowd is generally headed,” he added.

Overall, the Delhi Metro runs 536 trains from 8 am to 11 am, a jump of nearly 16 trains compared to last year. 

The overall scaling up is significant as the rapid mass transit, covering over 190 km, is making forays into newer areas like Faridabad and various parts of Outer Delhi as part of its Phase-III expansion.

Sharma said apart  from the addition of 234  automatic fare collection gates, 161 new ticket vending machines, the Delhi Metro is ramping up the infrastructure at its stations. 

He added that the number of train cancellations had come down to 639 in 2013-14 from a high of 1385 the year before and instances of delay stood at 1189 as compared to 1284 of 2012-13.

"These figures may seem <g data-gr-id="24">small</g> but they do significantly impact the overall train services," he said.