Delhi Metro ridership record 2.6 million on Raskha Bandhan

The Delhi Metro reported a record ridership of 2.6 million Tuesday on the Raksha Bandhan festival, an official statement Tuesday.

The figure of 26,06,364 passengers surpassed the previous record of 25,04,900 set Aug 8, a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official said.

"In view of the increasing ridership we have introduced eight-coach trains on Line 3 (Dwarka Sector 21-Noida City Centre) Monday. We are planning to introduce 68 eight-coach trains out of which 31 trains will run on Jahangirpuri to Huda City Centre and 37 on Line 3," a Delhi Metro official said.

The Delhi Metro normally witnesses a huge rush on Raksha Bandhan with about one lakh extra commuters commuting on the festival day.

"Normally, 15 trains are withdrawn from the lines during non-peak hours (12.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.), but today (Tuesday) in view of the festival rush, these trains were kept in service to provide 300 extra trips," the official said.

The usually overcrowded Line 3 (Dwarka-Noida City Centre) and Line 4 (Yamuna Bank to Vaishali) recorded the maximum ridership of 983,397 followed by the Gurgaon line (Jahangirpuri to HUDA City Centre) with 933,431 commuters.

The Red Line (Dilshad Garden to Rithala) took over three lakh passengers.

Of the other two metro corridors, Line 6 Violet Line (Central Secretariat to Badarpur) carried 197,122 people and the Green Line (Inderlok to Mundka) had 101,252 commuters. The two metro corridors have lower ridership than the other metro lines.

However, there was a technical snag between Karol Bagh and R.K. Ashram Marg stations on Line 3. The snag was rectified after almost an hour so the the extra trips or inducting eight coach trains never helped commuters all along the busy route, linking Dwarka in west Delhi with Noida and Vaishali in Uttar Pradesh.

The 49-km Blue Line covers 43 stations in some of the most populous parts of the capital and is the longest in the network. It carries over nine lakh passengers every day.