Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metro Rail is creating new records in the number of riders but is refusing to increase the number of coaches per train. During peak hours, 80 per cent of passengers are forced to travel standing. Asked about the problems, Mr N.V.S. Reddy managing director, HMRL, said officials increase the train frequency to meet the demand. The frequency could be brought to two to four minutes from the current six minutes based on demand.
“We cannot increase the number cars during peak and decrease them when the rush eases. Increasing cars will not be viable,” Mr Reddy said. During service interruptions, Mr Reddy said that HMRL would deploy additional trains the start and end points on the different lines including Nagole, Miyapur, LB Nagar and Hitec City. This apart, additional trains could be deployed at the Prakashnagar Metro Rail station.
Mr Reddy said that these additional trains would be run during service disruptions.
The footfall on Metro Rail has increased 200 per cent ever since the inauguration of the Hitec City corridor in March. Officials said they could only increase the frequency of trains to between two and four minutes, but adding coaches was not an option.
Mr Vijay Kumar, a regular commuter, said seating was available for only 10 per cent of the passengers. “HMRL claims the Metro Rail is world class. Please visit European cities, 90 per cent of passengers are seated and only 10 per cent are standing.” He wanted more coaches to reduce the rush in each train, The elderly, women and children are the worst sufferers, passengers said. Ms K. Padmavathi, who commutes between Hitec City and Tarnaka daily, said women and the elderly were forced to stand during peak hours. “The crowd in Metro Rail is worse than in the RTC buses. Standing for more than half an hour and working after that has become stressful", she added.
The number of passengers on the Metro Rail service has reached 3.06 lakh per day recently. HMRL officials said that on average the number of passengers was rising by 5,000 passengers per week and the number was steadily going up as first and last mile connectivity was being improved.
