India’s Chennai Metro to run trains from 8 am to 8 pm

CHENNAI, Sep 3, 2020, The Hindu. Chennai Metro Rail will begin services first between Washermanpet and Chennai Airport stations on September 7, and then from Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount on September 9, with the first train departing at 8 a.m. and the last one at 8 p.m., The Hindu reported.

In what may be difficult for air passengers, there will be no direct trains connecting Chennai Central to Chennai Airport and passengers have to switch trains at Alandur now.

Chennai Metro Rail will run with a frequency of five minutes during peak hours (8.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.) and 10 minutes in non-peak hours. Earlier, trains would stop for 20 seconds at each station, but now the time has been increased to 50 seconds, to give passengers time to board the train and ensure physical distancing is maintained, and also for more fresh air to enter the train.

Tokens will not be available for buying tickets, and instead, only smartcards and the QR code system will be in place.

There will be thermal scanning at the entry, and passengers have to wear masks during their travel.

According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), only two entry points will be open now, and later, based on need, the other two could be opened as well. Also, the timings of services may go up if the ridership increases in the coming weeks.

Chennai Metro Rail has begun doing trials at stations, before operations resume on Monday.