The Hindu : New Delhi News : Steep rise in Metro ridership

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Thursday, Jul 31, 2008
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New Delhi

Steep rise in Metro ridership

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: There has been a sudden jump in the number of passengers opting to travel by the Delhi Metro railway. According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, the number of passengers crossed 8 lakhs a day during the past two days.

While the ridership on Monday stood at 8.05 lakh, it shot up to 8.14 lakh on Tuesday. Consequently the earnings of the Delhi Metro from passenger revenue also rose, touching Rs.90 lakh a day on both these days.

Though the ridership is on a steady increase, the sudden rush of commuters has taken the DMRC by surprise. It claims that this is the first time the ridership has crossed 8 lakh. “The average ridership on the Delhi Metro is going up steadily and has increased by 24,000 passengers per day as it was 7.02 lakh in June while it became 7.26 lakh in July 2008,” said an official.

He pointed out that the Metro ridership on the entire system on Tuesday crossed 11.5 lakh: “According to a recent commuter survey, about 43 per cent of Metro passengers use two or three trains during each trip when they travel on the Metro as they change lines. This means the actual train occupancy yesterday reached 11.58 lakh.”

To deal with the growing numbers, the DMRC has ordered 131 more trains. The additional trains will help in catering to the added traffic.

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