'After rush hour, not enough direct Metro trains to Noida'

Metro commuters travelling on the Blue Line complain of lack of direct trains from Dwarka to Noida City Centre once the evening rush hour is over.

The Blue Line comprises two corridors – Dwarka to Noida City Centre and Dwarka to Vaishali.

Passengers say that they have to wait longer to catch a direct train heading to Noida City Centre on the Blue Line after 9 pm.

“Before 9 pm, the Delhi Metro runs services from Dwarka to Vaishali and Dwarka to Noida City Centre. But after 9 pm, it introduces another set of service on the corridor from Dwarka to Indraprastha (a station just before the interchange station, Yamuna Bank),” said Bineet Tripathi, who takes the Metro from Mandi House daily.

“After 9 pm, the Delhi Metro runs trains in three loops – Dwarka to Vaishali, Dwarka to Indraprastha, and Dwarka to Noida City Centre,” he added.

Both the corridors – Dwarka to Vaishali and Dwarka to Noida City Centre – have a common interchange station, Yamuna Bank, which is 10 stations before Nodia City Centre and seven stations before Vaishali.

“When the Delhi Metro starts running services up to Indraprastha, those of us who are heading to Noida City Centre find it difficult to board a direct train to Noida as the trains are jam-packed,” said Ritesh Tiwari, who works at ITO.

Passengers also complain that the Delhi Metro does not run alternate services for Noida City Centre and Vaishali. They say each Vaishali train should be followed by a train to Noida.

“Even before 9 pm, there are more trains heading to Vaishali than Noida City Centre. Many a time Delhi Metro runs two back to back trains towards Vaishali during rush hours,” said Surabhi Sharma, a private firm employee.

“Not only the trains get overcrowded but the platform also sees a huge rush because of this,” she added.

Lack of alternate service for the two corridors make matters worse for those travelling on the network late at night. “More often than not, there are two trains heading to Vaishali, then comes a train for Indraprastha and at last there is train going towards Noida City Centre,” said Lal Singh, who usually takes Metro after 9 pm.

“As the time passes the waiting time keeps increasing from four minutes to seven minutes and finally 10 minutes between each train,” he added.

At present, the Delhi Metro spreads across 210 kilometres, with a ridership of nearly 26 lakh passengers daily. Earlier this month, the Delhi Metro recorded the highest ever footfall of over 33.60 lakh passengers on the eve of Raksha Bandhan. The Blue Line saw over 12 lakh passengers on that day.

When contacted Delhi Metro officials maintained the frequency on the corridor was adequate for service after the evening rush hour.

They said trains have to be pulled out of service at that time for maintenance.
“Trains are taken off service close to the depot. In the case of this corridor, Yamuna Bank is the depot so the Delhi Metro runs a few trains till Indraprastha station only,” said an official.