Ridership up 52% in Delhi Metro; Yellow, Blue and Red draw crowds

NEW DELHI: As all Delhi Metro corridors except one became functional on Friday, the effect was immediately reflected on the ridership figures. From nearly 85,000 on Thursday, ridership jumped to almost 1.3 lakh on Friday, an increase of 52%.
With nearly 400 kms of Metro network and 27 out of 28 interchange points operational on Friday, commuters had a wide range of travel options to choose from.“The total ridership witnessed in Friday’s operational hours from 7am to 1 pm and from 4 pm till 7.30 pm was 1,28,886,” said Anuj Dayal executive director (corporate communications), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
Though Friday saw the reopening of the 37.5 km long Magenta Line (Botanical Garden-Janakpuri West) and the 4.3 km long Grey Line (Dwarka-Najafgarh), it were the old workhorses of Delhi Metro that pulled in the crowd. Yellow Line (Samaypur Badli-HUDA City Centre) witnessed a footfall of 41,689, followed by tnn38,623 riders on the Blue Line (Dwarka-Vaishali/Noida Electronic City) and 15,485 on the network’s oldest corridor Red Line (Rithala-Shaheed Sthal). Delhi Metro’s three oldest corridors accounted for nearly 75% of the ridership on Friday, even though their combined length is just 42.5% of the total network.
The Magenta and Grey Lines witnessed ridership of 6,953 and 514, respectively. Most of the Magenta Line stations bore an eerie look with only a handful of passengers, with the exception of the Hauz Khas interchange station, which is usually thronged by passengers traveling between Noida and Gurgaon.