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One day following a high-level meeting led by Delhi’s environment minister, Gopal Rai, to enforce Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced on Tuesday its plan to introduce an additional 40 train trips on weekdays across the Metro network, beginning from Wednesday.
“As part of the various measures being adopted by the Delhi government to combat pollution under Stage-II of GRAP, DMRC will be running 40 additional train trips on weekdays (Monday to Friday) across its network starting Wednesday, October 25, 2023. This has been planned to intensify the use of public transport among passengers across Delhi-NCR,” said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, corporate communications at DMRC.
However, DMRC did not specify the expected reduction in wait times following the addition of these 40 train trips. Notably, DMRC operates over 4,300 train trips daily across its network in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), and the additional trips, while beneficial, may not have a substantial impact.
Stage II of Grap was implemented across the city on Saturday due to forecasts of deteriorating air quality to “very poor.” The 11 measures under this category include increasing the bus fleet and enhancing the frequency of Metro services.
DMRC’s network covers 393 kilometers, spanning Delhi-NCR through 12 Metro lines (including the Rapid Metro in Gurugram and the Aqua Line in Noida), serving a total of 288 Metro stations.
Delhi’s environment minister, Gopal Rai, also issued directions on Monday to increase the frequency of Metros and buses. “We have decided to increase the frequency of Metro and DTC buses under Grap. DMRC has been directed to reduce it to 5-6 minutes wherever the frequency is currently every 7-8 minutes,” he stated.
Stage II of Grap was activated by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Saturday,following a decline in air quality in the Capital with an AQI reading of “poor.” As of this winter season, Delhi has recorded only one “very poor” air quality day, which occurred on Sunday with an AQI of 313.
The measures under Stage II encompass strict enforcement of the ban on diesel generator sets, ensuring uninterrupted power supply across the NCR, increasing parking fees to discourage the use of private transport, and augmenting bus and Metro services through the induction of additional fleets, among other actions.
