It’s not a easy breezy ride in the Metro these days. With its ridership reaching 18 lakhs, and more Delhiites opting for Metro to commute, the recent announcement by the DMRC chief E. Sreedharan that Metro will convert its six-coach trains to eight-coach ones on its existing corridors comes as a relief to daily commuters.
Anu Sharma, public relations executive, shares, “Metro has become really crowded. One can look past the crowd only if people are well behaved; sadly, everyone is in a hurry to reach somewhere, basic manners and courtesy are all forgotten. It’s a crazy ride, especially on weekends and festive occasions. Adding extra coaches may help the situation, but it may attract more riders as well.”
For Shereen Iqbal, a student, it’s a daily grind in Metro. She says, “I prefer travelling in the women’s coach and if it is limited to just one coach it won’t make much difference to me. Even after six coaches, the ladies coach is always more jam-packed at peak hours than the general coaches but still I will not prefer to step into it because everyone knows how cheap Delhi men can be.”
She adds, “If the Metro has one more coach for women during peak hours, I think situation will be under control.”
Prateek Shah, an online evangelist, says, “News of addition of two coaches to the Metro is like an answer to the prayers of all commuters who have been jostling for every inch of space each passing day in the Metro. People will finally breathe a sigh of relief on knowing this and be able to breathe properly when they next board a Metro.”