NEW DELHI: The resumption of Delhi Metro services on Monday brought smiles back on the faces of commuters in the national capital, but many said the closure of most entry-exit gates caused delay and inconvenience.
A Delhi Metro employee said he had to spend more time walking to the operational gate of the GTB Nagar metro station as the other gates were closed.
"The gate nearer to my residence is closed. So, had to walk to gate number 5 which took extra 10 minutes," he said.
However, the journey remained smooth right from entering the metro premises to boarding the train and exiting the station at the destination, he added.
Jyotsna Singh, 28, who travelled from HUDA City Centre station to Central Secretariat station, said she usually exits from gate number 1, but it was closed this time.
"I had to take a detour and exit through gate number 3, which took 5-7 minutes extra. I was prepared for such minor delays considering the situation," she said.
Singh, who works at Shashtri Bhawan, said metro travel costs her just Rs 50 compared to Rs 350-400 spent on cab.
Saurabh Roy, who boarded the metro from Jor Bagh and got down at Patel Chowk, said he entered from gate number 1 near the Lodhi Gardens.
"It didn't make any sense travelling 15 minutes by foot for an 11-minute journey. Anyone facing such problems will give priority to personal vehicles over the metro," he said.
The Delhi Metro resumed services in a graded manner on Monday, with elaborate measures for crowd management and ensuring hygiene to check the spread of the virus.
The Yellow Line connecting Samaypur Badli and HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon was the first one to be opened.
The services resumed at 7 am with strict safety and social distancing measures in place.
The trains will operate in batches of four-hour each from 7-11 am in the morning and 4-8 pm in the evening.
A number of passengers faced difficulty buying new smart cards or getting them recharged through cashless modes due to network issues.
At a few stations, such as Central Secretariat, Chawri Bazar, and Chandni Chowk, passengers said there were hiccups while making payments for new smart cards or recharging them online due to non-availability of mobile network on the station premises.
Luckshay Gupta, 28, said issues in online payment caused a minor delay during his travel from Chandni Chowk to Race Course.
Rohini Bansal, 25, said she tried getting her smart card recharged online but it could not be done due to network issues.
"Money got deducted from my account, but the transaction failed. I waited for 15-20 minutes at Central Secretariat metro station before I left the premises and took an auto to work," she said.
Cashless transactions: Another woe
A number of people who travelled on the Delhi Metro, which resumed services after more than five months on Monday, faced problems buying new smart cards or getting them recharged through cashless modes due to network issues.
At many stations, including Central Secretariat, Chawri Bazar, and Chandni Chowk, passengers said there were hiccups while making online payments.
Such issues were being reported mostly from underground metro stations.
Mohammad Mohsin, 28, who travelled from Kashmiri Gate to Sikandarpur, said he had trouble recharging his smart card as it took a while to make the payment through e-wallets due to erratic mobile network.
Tokens are not permitted for travelling to prevent transmission of virus through frequent touching.
Only smart card holders (including QR code users on Airport Express Line) are allowed to travel.
Recharge of smart cards at the ticket-vending machines or customer care centre is allowed through cashless modes only.
Similarly, new smarts cards can be purchased at customer care centres or ticket counters using cashless modes of payment.
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Parvez Ahmed, who travelled from Saket to Azadpur, said he did not have enough balance in his smart card and his debit card also did not work for sometime due to network issues.
"I waited for about 10-15 minutes before I could successfully make the payment," he said.
Ahmed said there were no long queues on the first day, so delay in online payment did not lead to any major issue.
"Had it been a normal day, it would have led to chaos," he said.
Luckshay Gupta, 28, said issues in online payment caused a minor delay during his travel from Chandni Chowk to Race Course.
"Cash is still being used in all other works. Not everyone has a debit card or e-wallet. For now, only those who have office work or something urgent are travelling by metro. Later, everyone will take the mass transit system, the situation will be different then," he said.
Rohini Bansal, 25, said she tried getting her smart card recharged online but it could not be done due to network issues.
"Money got deducted from my account, but the transaction failed. I waited for 15-20 minutes at Central Secretariat metro station before I left the premises and took an auto to work," she said.
The Delhi Metro resumed services in a graded manner on Monday, with elaborate measure for crowd management and ensuring hygiene to check the spread of virus.
The Yellow Line connecting Samaypur Badli and Huda City Centre in Gurugram was the first one to be opened.
The services resumed at 7 am with strict safety and social distancing measures in place.
The trains will operate in batches of four-hour each from 7-11 am in the morning and 4-8 pm in the evening.