Delhi Metro will resume its services from September 7 in a phased manner and standard operating procedure was announced for its functioning on Wednesday.

The Yellow Line, which connects Samaypur Badli to Huda City, will be the first line to resume its service, reports Hindustan Times. Rapid Metro in Gurgaon will also resume its operations on September 7.

The Blue Line which connects Dwarka Sector-21 to Vaishali/Noida Electronic City) and the Pink Line connecting Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar will start its operation on September 9. After evaluation of the impact of these first two lines, Red Line (Dilshad Garden - Shaheed Sthal), Green Line (Inderlok-Mundka), and the Violet Line (Kashmiri Gate - Raja Nahar Singh) will be opened on September 10.

Magenta Line connecting Botanical Garden and Kalkaji Mandir Section and Grey Line connecting Dwarka and Najafgarh will resume on September 11. Airport Express Line will start its operations on September 12.

Initially, the Metro trains will provide services from 7.00 am to 11.00 am and 4.00 pm to 8.00 pm.

The remaining metro services across the country including Chennai, Kochi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Lucknow among others will also resume services soon after the Unlock 4.0 gave them the green light. Maharashtra government has decided not to resume metro services in the state.

Indian Express states that the government of India issued standard operating procedure on Wednesday that all metro services have to follow which are as follows:

  • Separate gates for entry and exit.
  • Usage of smart card and online ticketing will be encouraged.
  • Metro trains will not stop at stations if deemed too crowded and/or passengers are seen not following the physical distancing protocol. It is not clear how metro will accommodate passengers who want to alight at such stations.
  • Wearing of mask is mandatory. If passenger do not have a mask, they will have to buy it at the station.
  • Stations in the containment zones will remain closed.
  • Passenger will have to maintain physical distancing at all times.
  • Adequate stoppage time will be provided at each station for smooth entry and exit of passengers.
  • Thermal screening will be taken at the entry and only asymptomatic patients will be allowed to travel.
  • Crowds will be regulated with the help of state police and local administration.