Metro to run special trains on Sept 13 for NEET candidates; releases SOPs

Kolkata: Kolkata Metro Railway will run special services on September 13 for NEET candidates. A total of 66 services (33 UP and 33 DN) will be run at an interval of 15 minutes on that day from 11 am to 7 pm. No token will be issued to commuters. Only Printed Card Tickets (PCT) will be issued to the bonafide students and their guardians. Examinees will have to show their bonafide admit

cards at the gates of Metro stations

Moreover, Kolkata Metro Rail authorities on Wednesday released the guidelines for running the city's underground commuting lifeline in the new normal phase. The metro rail services are likely to resume from September 14 from 8 am to 8 pm daily, expect on Sundays, as reported.

"We are not confirming now that the service will resume from September 14. But there is a possibility. Metro service will run on September 13 from 11 am to 7 pm for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), and that is confirmed," Kolkata Metro Rail spokesperson said.

According to the new guidelines, e-pass will be made available on the Metro Rail's official website or on the Pathadisha app, which needs to be booked by the passenger 12 hours prior to the journey.

The last train will start at 7 pm from both the end stations. If any station falls under the Covid-19 containment zone, it will remain closed.

The new guidelines also said that trains will stop for 30 seconds now at every station, instead of 20 seconds earlier. There will be seats with cross marks where passengers will not be allowed to sit. Trains will run after thorough sanitisation of every rake.

Officials of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the state police will jointly screen all the passengers with valid e-passes before entering the station premises. The Metro authorities

have decided to allow a maximum 400 passengers in a train at a time.

Only Metro Rail officials will be able to enter the stations showing their identity cards and then they can collect necessary passes. Special passes will be issued for employees of contract agencies who work for the Kolkata Metro.

According to sources, every passenger will have to wear masks and undergo thermal screening before entering the station. Only three persons will be allowed to use the elevator at a time.

Meanwhile, Metro Railway general manager Manoj Joshi on Wednesday inspected for the second time several stations in the network prior to resumption of services of the city's rapid transit system, an official said.

Joshi inspected the stations between Park Street and Kavi Subhash on Wednesday in the southern part of the city, a day after he visited all stations in the north between Park Street and Noapara, the official said.

Joshi had earlier said that the final date for resumption of regular Metro services will be fixed shortly. The Metro Railway asked the passengers to download the Arogya Setu App on their smartphones.

The Metro authorities said that passengers having symptoms of fever, cough or cold should not undertake a journey in its trains.

It said that "elders and children should not undertake a Metro journey." with agency inputs