Mumbaikars give Metro 1 a cautious welcome

After a sevenmonth COVID19caused shutdown the Mumbai Metro One opened its doors to commuters safely and slowly at 830 am on Monday While the sanitising and the screening remain ubiquitous the Metro management has brought about a lot of other changes including the paper tickets that have replaced the plastic tokens On ground to see commuters and the Metro in action firsthand midday brings to you perspectives on travel amid COVID from the stations and the trainsWatch videoWhile everyone can travel without exception on the Metro its officials have requested senior citizens and children to avoid the commute for now Read on to find out middays commuting experience from start to endAccessibility to stationsSo far only two gates have been kept open at the 12 stations for entry and one or two for the exit The gateways have been segregated to allow social distancing At Ghatkopar the entrance near Bharat Cafeacute and the one near Ghatkopar Guest House were open The 12metre main Foot Overbridge FOB connecting the suburban railway to the Metro was shut The entrance near Bharat Cafeacute is connected to Ghatkopar station via a skywalk Access was monitored by Metro staff at all timesOn the Versova side midday boarded the first Metro in the morning Not only the train but also the staircases and ticketing area had stickers instructing commuters to maintain social distancingMetro has swapped the plastic tokens for paper ticketsThe drill insideOnce inside the Metro station a guard points a thermal gun to the commuters wrist that checks the temperature another guard nearby armed with a sanitiser spray ensures the commuters hands are sanitised Bags and luggage too are sanitised These staff included the Metro employees and Maharashtra state security guardsNext at the ticket counters the unused balance in Metro passes was reinstated across customer care countersMetro staff screen passengers at the entrancePayments via QR code scanners were allowed and tickets have been changed from plastic tokens to paper ones The Metro staff informed and explained commuters about paper tickets and other ticketing options to limit contactTwo paper tickets for a twoway journey were to be scanned at accesscontrolled gates The path from the ticket counter to the platform has been divided to allow social distancingBoarding and exiting the train has become more civilisedWhile Metro staff were busy cleaning the platforms and the station regularly authorities have said that every train would be sanitised after every journeyOnboard the MetroThe Metro platform was ringing with COVID19 announcements and did not have the hustlebustle of preCOVID times Only when all passengers exited did the people on the platform alightA Metro train operatorWhile seat stickers were put up to effect social distancing guards onboard the train also appealed to commuters to avoid the marked seats One such commuter seated on a blocked seat was asked to change his place at Ghatkopar station by a Metro guardThe temperature inside the trains was between 25degC and 27degC and the atmosphere did not feel stuffyMetro stairs boast of stickers instructing people about social distancingAs against 1350 people per service in preCOVID days every train will now carry only 360 commutersThe number of services too has been halved from 400 services with a fiveminute interval between each to 200 services with an eightminute interval between eachMaharashtra state security personnel check passengers luggage The Metro will operate only between 830 am and 830 pmAlso ReadFasttracking Metro 3 the only answer to criticismIt was expected that many people would use the Metro services on the first day itself However on Monday the crowd was much less even during peak hoursExiting the station With entry and exit points segregated and limited commuters exiting the station wont be met with the ones entering it200No of services being run currently400No of daily services in during preCOVID timesKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news