‘Behavioural change impressive’

HYDERABAD: With the first weekend after rollout, Hyderabad Metro shattered all records with 2.1 lakh commuters hopping on for a ride till 9.30pm on Day Four (Saturday), throwing authorities as well as rail security apparatus into a tizzy. The unprecedented holiday rush, thanks in large part to excited first-time riders wanting a joyride, also forced L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Ltd to stop issuing smart cards at 9.30pm. "They had to stop issuing tickets to control the crowds and ensure that operations wind up by 11pm as the last train has to leave at 10 pm from Miyapur, Ameerpet and Nagole to reach all passengers to their destination stations by 11pm," said NVS Reddy , MD, HMRL.Though there are 57 more trains on standby, only 14 are expected to run for the next few months. Authorities say number of trains on the route will not be increased due to 'statutory restrictions' that require trains to run at particular speeds at particular stretches along the route.Commuters said trains are running jam-packed during afternoons. "I was shocked to see an overcrowded train at Rasoolpura at 2pm. Three-rake train is already feeling too small. Hope they increase the number of rakes," said Ashish Mehta , a working professional.Trains are being run at a frequency of seven minutes between Miyapur-Ameerpet (13 km) and 15 minutes between Ameerpet-Nagole.Advanced signalling and train control technology allows frequency to be increased up to two minutes.What left Metro authorities impressed was the behavioural change in Hyderabadis. “Passengers are following the queue system and obeying instructions to maintain discipline,” said NVS Reddy, MD, HMRL.Such is the rush that the 14 trains pressed into service are making about 352 trips per day and are running packed during peak hours, prompting citizens to demand either an increase in the number of coaches or frequency of trains.