The step has been taken by DMRC because the department has got many complaints on the violet line where the commuters who have to go towards Badarpur, board Metro from Mandi house going towards ITO, so that they can get a seat when the Metro changes its direction from the same track.
“Since the new station opened, some passengers have taken to coming till <g data-gr-id="30">ITO,</g> though they have to go to Badarpur, in order to get a seat. To discourage this practice, Delhi Metro has been making announcements warning commuters of a Rs 200 penalty for taking the “reverse journey,” said a Metro official.
This is a temporary phenomenon as the section has just opened. Not too many passengers do this. Passengers are being advised via announcements not to indulge in such reverse journey practices and a special drive has been started to <g data-gr-id="27">fine</g> errant passengers,” said a DMRC spokesperson. And while no one has been fined so far, Delhi Metro has said it will start penalizing offenders “soon”.
<g data-gr-id="40">Meanwhile</g> commuters have a different point of view over this issue. Some of them say, the problem of <g data-gr-id="39">travelling</g> to Badarpur in a crowded Metro is solved if they just go one station ahead in the opposite direction. “During peak hour, though Mandi House is the first station on the way to Badarpur, it’s still very crowded. However, if you just travel till ITO, the trains are mostly empty and you get a seat,” said a <g data-gr-id="76">commuter</g>. Since every third train is to ITO, most commuters prefer to add a station to their journey rather than miss out on a seat.
Incidentally, ITO station has been seeing a steady ridership of 6,000 and above on all days this week. While the ridership was 6,972 on Thursday, it was 6,954 on Wednesday.