In the coming weeks, get ready to queue up at Namma Metro stations to board the train.
After running a pilot at the Kempegowda interchange station to get passengers to stand in a line, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. is now considering extending it to other stations as well.
Like at the Kempegowda station, security staff on platforms will ensure that commuters line up at boarding points.
Queues are expected to help the BMRCL achieve two goals: one, it will help passengers de-board easily; and two, it will help distribute passengers evenly across all coaches, and thereby help BMRCL disprove the allegation by some passengers on social media that the trains are running over-capacity.
Several photos of jam-packed coaches are doing the rounds on social media. However, the BMRCL maintains that trains are running short of full capacity. Passengers are not evenly distributed across all coaches, and most of them are crowding in some coaches, it says.
“Our trains can carry a maximum of 945 passengers, and currently we estimate that 700 people travel during peak hours. People are still crowding towards the middle of the train and not at the front or the last coach. Queuing will help us understand the flow of passengers into the train and will also be beneficial for passengers as they can find adequate space inside the train,” a senior BMRCL official said.
Currently, around 20 trains are operational on the Purple Line and 15 on the Green Line. A total of 50 trains are available for operations for Phase I, but technical roadblocks like having to wait for the tracks on the newly opened stretch to stabilise were the reason for the relatively lower frequency on the Green Line. But with the tracks having stabilised to a certain extent, more trains will be added soon.
“We have 15 trains which can be pushed on to the Purple or Green lines as and when required. Some of these trains will be used for short-loop services, others will be put on the Green Line to increase the frequency of trains to around 4 minutes,” the official said.
Move welcomed
Passengers are pleased with the idea of queues. “It means boarding in a more orderly fashion than what is happening now. However, getting people to stand in a queue patiently once the train pulls up is going to be an uphill task,” said Koushik Rao, a regular commuter.
The challenge is one that the BMRCL is aware of. On the cards are announcements, requests and signage encouraging people to line up. The security guards manning the platforms will also be roped in to help maintain the queues. “We are hoping people will see the advantages of queuing and adopt it,” the official said.