Unlock 4: Centre to issue guidelines for Metro services today

The ministry of housing and urban affairs on Tuesday held a meeting with metro corporations to finalise the standard operating procedures (SOP) for operating metro services allowed under ‘Unlock 4’ guidelines, which will be issued on Wednesday following the home ministry’s nod, officials aware of the development said.

The meeting on Tuesday chaired by urban housing ministry’s secretary Durga Shankar Mishra was attended by the managing directors of 15 metro rail corporations, officials said.

The home ministry on Saturday issued guidelines for the fourth phase of an exercise to lift restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), announcing that metro rail services can resume in a graded manner from September 7.

“As informed earlier, Metro Rail operations have been allowed w.e.f. 7th September, 2020. The SOPs already circulated were discussed today through VC by D.S Mishra, Secretary, MOHUA with MD’s of various Metro companies. The suggestions were considered in the VC meeting and accordingly SOPs are being finalised. MOHUA minister Sh Hardeep S Puri, will be announcing SOPs/guidelines in this regard on 2nd September,” ministry spokesperson Rajeev Jain said.

The guidelines issued the home ministry said that the standard operating procedure (SOP) for this will be issued by the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

“We discussed the broad outline of the guidelines today. The same will need to be discussed and finalised with the home ministry tomorrow (Wednesday) and issued by afternoon. We heard suggestions of metro managing directors, which will be considered and accordingly the SOP will be finalised. The final guidelines will be announced by the minister on Wednesday,” an official part of the meeting said.

Corporations have been asked to prepare a list of stations where trains will begin operations in consultation with the state governments.

Passengers will have to follow strict guidelines on wearing masks and practicing social distancing norms failure of which may result in fines, officials said.

Passengers travelling in metro trains are also not going to be allowed to use tokens anymore as the Centre has plans of implementing a contactless ticketing system using only metro cards, once restrictions on public transport are lifted, Hindustan Times had reported on April 30.

The metro rail companies are also free to impose their own restrictions based on the condition of the virus in the region, officials had told HT earlier. “Broadly we may have few stoppages and open the stations in a phase-wise manner, there will mandatory thermal screening, face masks, social distancing, contact-less ticketing etc, which will have to be practiced,” an official aware of the development had said.

The new norms on resumption of metro rail are likely to include contact-less ticketing through metro cards, increase in the average stoppage time at each station, markings for queues across all stations to control crowds and maintaining social distancing and an overhaul in the air conditioning system inside the trains to ensure supply of fresh air.

In addition to this, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which provides security to Metros, has chalked out protocols to ensure smooth and contactless travel in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.