A series of steel bollards has been set up at the subway linking two Metro corridors at Esplanade station to streamline the movement of passengers.
The subway connects the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of the east-west corridor (green line) with the older north-south corridor (blue line).
Since March 15, when commercial service started on the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch, thousands of passengers have been using the Esplanade interface, triggering a rush during peak hours.
“Queue managers have been installed at Esplanade station to ensure seamless interchange of passengers between old Esplanade station (blue line) and New Esplanade station (green line),” the carrier said on Friday.
“During rush hours, the subway gets too crowded and sees chaotic passenger movement. The bollards will streamline the flow of passengers on either side,” said an official.
The launch of the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section has pushed up the footfall, at Esplanade station and of the north-south corridor in general.
“The Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section is witnessing over 45,000 passengers every day. A majority of them are using the Esplanade interface to take the north-south Metro,” said a Metro official.
“The footfall at Esplanade before March 15 would be around 35,000 per day. Now, it has jumped to close to 60,000.”
The interface connecting the two stations is opposite Gate 4 of the older Esplanade station.
On the first few days of commercial runs, the lack of signage at the Esplanade station left passengers confused. Many got down at Esplanade (of the blue line) and walked up to the wrong end. Metro staff posted at the gates showed them the right way. The only signage mentioning the east-west or green line was visible at the concourse levels.
But the situation has improved now. There is plenty of signage to guide passengers, right from the time of getting off a train to the point of reaching the desired end.