Title - With rising ridership, Delhi Metro to have more gates

With commuter volumes crossing the two million mark on six days in June alone this year, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) proposes to upgrade commuter facilities by installing more elevators and Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates at Metro stations. The average daily ridership of Delhi Metro has increased from nearly 1.8 million passengers in May to over 1.9 million in June. A DMRC statement said: “In June, Delhi Metro has crossed the two million mark in ridership six times so far and has registered its highest ridership of 20,94,067 on June 11, surpassing the earlier record of 20,83,755 set on August 12, 2011.” The DMRC will install more than 200 new Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates at different Metro stations to facilitate commuter movement. “The new AFC gates will be installed at important stations where the footfalls are higher like Kashmere Gate, NOIDA City Centre, NOIDA Sector 15, Dilshad Garden, Laxmi Nagar and other important stations,” the statement said. Five new lifts have been installed at the Chawri Bazar, Patel Nagar, Jasola and Vaishali Metro stations. In addition, the exit gate at the Metro station leading to New Delhi railway station has been redesigned to avoid overcrowding. The Delhi Metro normally makes over 2,700 trips a day, covering about 70,000 km and carrying around 1.8 million passengers on weekdays.