KOCHI: Only 159 passengers will be allowed to travel on each train when the Kochi Metro resumes its operations on Monday.Of them, only 84 will be allowed to sit and the rest 75 will be allowed to travel while standing, in adherence to Covid protocol. This is in contrast to the maximum capacity of 975 people who were allowed to travel on a train before the outbreak of Covid.
As per the decision taken by KMRL, only 10 trains will conduct services initially. The number of trains will be increased depending on the influx of passengers. “We are taking every measure to ensure the safe travelling of passengers during the pandemic. Though the maximum capacity of passengers in a train is 975, we have limited it to 159,” said A Manikandan, general manager (Operations and Maintenance), KMRL.
It is after a gap of over five months that the KMRL will resume the operation of the metro service.
“We have made elaborate arrangements to ensure the safety of passengers. The seats have been marked. Also, passengers can only stand in areas that are marked. This is to ensure Covid protocoland thereby reduce the risk,” he said.
KMRL has also decided to sanitise trains at the end of each trip, besides keep the doors open for 20 seconds at each station to purify the air. Cash box at the ticket counter, thermal scanners and sanitisers are the other Covid-prevention steps taken by KMRL.