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Commuters must learn etiquette: Metro staff

Last Updated 26 June 2017, 22:26 IST

 People are elbowing and jostling, and need to learn how to use the Metro better, staff said a week after the service was extended to southern Bengaluru.

The trains are packed with the completion of Phase 1, with many commuters complaining of difficulty in entering and exiting the coaches.

Staff at the Kempegowda interchange station said lack of discipline among riders had become a big headache.

“We have a tough time handling the crowds on the
platform. Though there is a queue for those exiting the train and another for those getting in, many people are unruly and argue with us,” a staffer said.

Passengers who stand away from the doors have to struggle and wade through the crowds to alight, a guard on Platform 3 said. Many commuters ignore instructions, and block the doors, he observed.

‘Give them time’

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd spokesperson U A Vasant Rao said queues would be introduced at other stations as well. “For many, the Metro is still new. Slowly they will learn the etiquette,” he said.

Staffers are also concerned about joyriders who behave recklessly at the stations.

“On Sunday, a family led a 60-year-old man to an escalator, ignoring our advice to take the lift. He tripped and fell. Fortunately, he wasn’t injured,” a guard at the Kempegowda station said.

‘Correct yourself’

Anand Sagar, a regular commuter, said the BMRCL should set its house in order instead of complaining about commuter behaviour.

“How can they run trains with just three coaches when they expect five lakh commuters? This only shows they were lacking in preparation,” he said. Metro officials claimed two trains would have six coaches by December,  but a contract letter released by BEML, which has bagged a Rs 1,421 crore order, said it would start supplying 150 intermediate cars only in June 2018.

Timings not permanent

The BMRCL has curtailed its operations on second Saturdays, Sundays and general holidays, with trains starting at 8 am instead of 5 am. It has also brought down the frequency of trains to 15 minutes. A BMRCL official said the timings could change. “We will increase frequency if there is demand,” he said.

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(Published 26 June 2017, 22:26 IST)

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