A majority of commuters who regularly used the Metro Rail before the COVID-19 pandemic are apprehensive about their return because of air-conditioned trains and stations.

Officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) said they had taken a slew of measures to ramp up safety. When trains halt at each station, they usually wait for 20 seconds but now this has been increased to 50 seconds.

Avoiding crowds

“This has been done for two reasons — to give commuters enough time to board the trains and to allow more fresh air to enter the coaches. Of course, this means they will spend more time travelling but these days, safety takes precedence,” an official said. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has announced that the temperature inside trains should be maintained between 25 and 27 degree Celsius.

Also, supply of fresh air has been increased from 25% to 100% now.

“Indoor air quality inside stations will be maintained by letting in around 4 times more fresh air than the recommended rate and fans will be run continuously at maximum capacity,” CMRL stated. Officials said the air handling units had two filters that block particles of size 5 microns and above.

“The air handling units and fans will run two hours before the first train departs and for two hours after the last train. This is to ensure there is enough ventilation and fresh air supply inside the stations. The tunnels also have ventilation fans,” another official said.