Delhi Metro services resume after being shut for 169 days due to coronavirus

Delhi Metro on Monday resumed services from 7 am after being shut for 169 days due to Covid-19.

In phase 1, metro services will be resumed on Yellow Line connecting Samaypur Badli to Huda City Centre and Rapid Metro in Gurugram.

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"We have deployed police force at every metro station for crowd management and to ensure that people wear face masks and follow norms of social distancing," Atul Katiyar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Delhi, told ANI.

The CISF has planned an airport-like "contact-free" security check for the Delhi Metro with modified hand-held and doorframe metal detectors for scanning passengers. Before Covid-19 struck, CISF personnel, who guard the metro network, spread over 230 stations, used to scan passengers from proximity and even touch them during security checks. The passengers were also allowed to keep their wallets and belts on the body.

The Home Ministry had recently issued guidelines allowing metro services in the country to resume operations in a graded manner, following which the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said it would be done in three stages from September 7-12.

Trains will operate in batches of four-hour each from 7-11 am in the morning and 4-8 pm in the evening in the first stage, officials said.

Metro services in the National Capital Region was closed since March 22 due to the pandemic. The DMRC has appealed to people to use the rapid transport only if urgently needed.

(With PTI inputs)