After a 54-day gap, the first set of Namma Metro trains commenced operations from the four terminal stations of the Metro network at 7 am on Monday, 21st June 2021. Though the occupancy levels in Metro trains that ran this morning were low, those on board were a relieved lot as they can now commute faster within the city on a safe mode of transport. According to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, a total of 17998 passengers took the train up to 11 am after which operations stopped. After a break, the trains would run again from 3 pm to 6 pm.
Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, Metro train operations, which restarted on September 7 last year after the first wave, completely stopped from April 28. They resumed this morning with a maximum of 900 passengers permitted in each train. Among them, only a maximum of 136 passengers would be allowed to travel seated due to the need to maintain social distancing.
Commuters too appeared to be taking care with most wearing double masks. A few said they had missed the Metro trains during the shutdown and commended the stringent precautions in place.
Asked about the poor patronage during the opening hours, A S Shankar, Executive Director, Operations & Maintenance, BMRCL, said, “It is only the first day since we started operations. When we restarted operations on September 7 last year too after a full shutdown, it took some time to pick up. It will definitely improve. Metro service is hygenic, comfortable, quick and safe and we are really glad to restart it today.”