Chennai Metro records footfall of over 22.74 lakh passengers in August alone

Chennai Metro: Patronage for CMRL saw an increase in footfall with over 22.74 lakh passengers having travelled in August alone compared to over 18.46 lakh in July.

By: Express Web Desk

Chennai | Updated: September 2, 2021 10:42 AM IST

3 min read

Passengers adhere to Covid-19 norms while commuting via metro in Chennai. (Twitter/@cmrlofficial)

A total of 44,76,111 passengers have travelled via metro in Chennai ever since Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) resumed operations on June 21 this year. In a statement, CMRL said 44,76,111 passengers had availed metro services from June 21 to August 31.

While 3,55,579 passengers had travelled from June 21 to June 30, a total of 18,46,466 passengers had travelled via metro from July 1 to July 31.

Patronage for metro services saw an increase last month with 22,74,066 passengers having travelled from August 1 to August 31 alone.

Also Read | Centre sanctions phase II of Metro project: Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin

CMRL recorded its highest single-day footfall during this period on August 27, with 88,579 people having travelled via metro on that day.

CMRL said 35,180 passengers had used the QR Code ticketing system to purchase tickets in August, while 12,19,967 passengers had opted for the Travel Card ticketing system in last month.

CMRL had resumed operations with 50 per cent occupancy along the Green (between St. Thomas Mount and Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M G Ramachandran Central Metro stations) and Blue (between Airport and Wimco Nagar metro stations) Lines in Chennai on June 21 following relaxations in lockdown restrictions in Chennai.

Currently, Chennai metro trains are operated from 5.30 am to 11 pm on weekdays (Monday to Saturday). Peak hour services are from 8 am to 11 am and 5 pm to 8 pm with trains running with a headway of 5 minutes while trains during non-peak hours are operated with a headway of 10 minutes. Meanwhile, metro services can be availed from 7 am to 10 pm on Sundays and public holidays, with a headway of 10 minutes throughout the day.

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Rs 48,400 collected as fine for violation of Covid-19 norms

As part of Covid-19 management, CMRL has been sanitising trains and stations regularly. With only 50 per cent occupancy allowed, seats have been marked with ‘X’ to ensure social distancing. Masks and social distancing are mandatory and crowd control staff have been deployed across all stations in the city to ensure the same.

CMRL announced in a statement that fines amounting to Rs 200 are being levied by squads on those not wearing masks while commuting in metro. A total of 242 passengers have been fined till August 31 and Rs. 48,400 has been collected towards the same.

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