RCB celebrations push Namma Metro ridership to highest-ever

Bengaluru: The Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) victory celebrations helped Namma Metro register its highest-ever ridership in a day. 

A record 9,66,732 passengers travelled by the metro on Wednesday, with 4,78,334 taking the Purple Line and 2,84,674 the Green Line. The Majestic interchange station recorded a footfall of 2,03,724. 

According to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), the major driver of the record ridership was the passenger movement at CBD stations, including Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, MG Road and Central College. 

The previous highest ridership was 9,08,153 passengers, recorded on April 17 this year. 

The ridership could have been even higher if the BMRCL had not suspended services or restricted entry to five stations — Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, MG Road, Central College and Trinity. 

The stations witnessed chaotic scenes. Arriving passengers far outnumbered the departing passengers and flooded the turnstile (AFC) gates. 

So intense was the rush that staff allowed passengers to get in without scanning the tickets. After the Cubbon Park and Vidhana Soudha stations were shut, staff at MG Road Road even let arriving passengers jump over the AFC gates, multiple commuters said. 

As crowds swelled for the RCB's celebrations at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, resulting in a stampede that killed 11 people, the BMRCL suspended services at Vidhana Soudha and Cubbon Park at 4.30 pm. 

Later on, only select entrances were kept open at Central College, MG Road and Trinity stations, and footfall was controlled. 

Around 7.15 pm, entry/exit 'E' of the Vidhana Soudha station was opened for 45 minutes to clear out the crowd. 

The Cubbon Park station's entrance adjacent to the stadium was reopened later. 

"We reopened select entrances in a phased manner to manage the crowd. Our underground stations aren't designed to handle such large volumes," a senior BMRCL official told DH.