Hyderabad Metro Rail and L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) officials had expected up to 10,000 passengers on the first day of resumption metro rail operations beginning with Corridor 1 — L.B. Nagar to Miyapur. But, the count was 19,000 much to their satisfaction with about 120 trips done from 7 a.m. to 12 noon and again from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Managing Director of HMR N.V.S. Reddy informed on Monday night that the passenger count was on “expected lines” and metro rail operations will start on Corridor III between Nagole and Raidurg from Tuesday and all the three corridors, including Corridor II from Jubilee Bus Station to Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS), Imlibun, will be operational from Wednesday.

During the pre-COVID-19 days, the metro rail service to used to make as many as 800 trips across the three corridors and was carrying more than four lakh passengers. Overall, the MD was happy that the passengers had adhered to the newly introduced rules of social distancing, sanitisation measures and other safety measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Earlier in the day, the usual rush at the metro stations and inside the metro trains at the beginning of the week was missing as fewer passengers with mandatory face masks made their way in and kept to the social distancing norms and allowed themselves to be thermal screened before making their journey. Stations were mostly empty with very few of the inside retail stores opening.

Trains were run for every five minutes and it was about sufficient for the authorities to complete the first day operations successfully. Passengers have been advised to opt for smart card for ticketing or through the QR code available through the TSavaari mobile app and also record the journey with the code available on each coach.

The metro rail service is being run after a gap of more than five months following the pandemic lockdown in March 22 and metros became operational in other cities across the country too.