JOIN USHeeding to demands from various quarters and keeping in view the number of women passengers opting for the new age transport system, Delhi Metro has decided to reserve the first coach of every train for women from October 2 on a trial basis.
The first coach of a Metro train can accommodate about 361 commuters (43 seating and 318 standing). Currently, the Delhi Metro is running a fleet of 129 trains on a network of 138 kilometres and 117 stations, DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal said.
The average daily ridership on weekdays is about 14 lakh.The decision to reserve one coach for women was taken by DMRC Managing Director E Sreedharan keeping in view a number of requests received from various quarters. About a quarter of the total passengers travelling on the Delhi Metro today consist of women passengers, he said.
He said the reservation of one coach for the women is on experiment basis.
"The reserved ladies' coach will be the first coach next to the driver's cab in every train and children upto 12 years accompanied by lady passengers will also be allowed to travel in the reserved coach," Dayal said.
The existing reservation of seats for ladies in other coaches, seats for the old and physically challenged and seats with stickers asking people to offer the seats to someone in need will continue.
The DMRC will also be placing stickers on the platform to mark the entry to the first coach reserved for women and it is planned to depute staff for informing passengers about the same initially.
Announcements will be made on this issue over the public address systems of the Metro system, Dayal said.He also sought to allay apprehensions that the decision will lead to more crowding in other coaches.
According to a commuter survey done by DMRC, about one fourth of the total commuter strength of the Metro are women.By October, the Delhi Metro will have a network of over 185 kilometres and about 135 metro stations carrying about 20 lakh commuters everyday