Metro Railway is mulling to increase the number of weekday trains and extend their timings from next week.
“The plan is to add six trains (three pairs) from next week. In that case, the last trains will leave the terminal stations at 9.30pm,” said a senior official.
The carrier now runs 240 trains from Monday to Friday. The last trains leave the terminal stations at 9pm.
Since the resumption of the Metro service on July 16, the passenger count has been going up. The carrier resumed with 192 trains on weekdays.
The daily average count is now nearing 2,50,000, said officials. “The festive season rush will start soon. The Covid numbers are still under control. We want to increase the number of trains gradually,” said the official.
After a long shutdown last year, the Metro service resumed on September 14, 2020. An e-pass system was introduced for access control at the gates when the service resumed. The number of trains and passenger count went up slowly, unlike after this year’s resumption.
This year, there is no e-pass system. A smart card is mandatory for a ride and tokens are suspended.
On Saturdays, the carriers run 172 special trains for railway employees and essential service providers. On Sundays, there are 112 special trains.