The Sunday Metro fleet will go up from December 20, the carrier announced on Thursday.

Starting December 19, passengers will not need an e-pass to enter Metro stations on Saturdays, it said.

“Starting December 20, we will run 102 trains instead of 68 on Sundays,” said an official.

Metro officials expect the Sunday passenger count to go up as winter sets in.

The first trains will leave Dum Dum and New Garia at 9am, instead of 10am, and the first train from Noapara will leave at 9.09am, instead of 10.13am. The last train will leave Dum Dum and New Garia at 9.30pm, instead of 9pm. The last train from Noapara will leave at 9.25pm, instead of 8.53pm.

The interval between two trains will be reduced to 15 minutes from 20 minutes.

The authorities have also decided to do away with the system of e-passes on Saturdays.

“Starting December 19, passengers will not need an e-pass to avail themselves of Metro services,” said the official.

The carrier has already done away with the e-pass system on Sundays and, since Monday, during non-rush hours on weekdays.

Since Monday, an e-pass has been mandatory only between 8.30am and 11am and again from 5pm to 8pm. Outside these two rush-hour windows, anyone can enter a station without an e-pass.

Women, children (15 years and below) and senior citizens (60 years and above) do not need an e-pass throughout the day.

An e-pass is needed to enter the station. A smart card is a must for a Metro ride, irrespective of the passenger’s age.

The token system will remain suspended as of now, said an official.

The number of daily passengers had been over 1,20,000 over the past few weekdays. But a third of the slots during the non-rush hours were remaining vacant, prompting the authorities to do away with e-passes during those slots even on weekdays.

On Monday, the first day of the relaxed norms, the carrier ferried over 1,35,000 passengers.

Last Saturday, the passenger count was over 1,00,000. Asked if doing away with e-passes would increase the risk of crowding on Saturdays, Metro officials said it was unlikely.

“The passenger count during rush hours on Saturdays has been 40-45 per cent less than that on weekday rush hours,” said a senior Metro official.