Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) The Delhi Metro will run 160 extra trips to avoid over-crowding Thursday in view of the Raksha Bandhan festival, an official said.

“The Metro will provide extra 160 trips and the trains will run at peak hour frequency from morning 8 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. Thursday,” a Delhi Metro official said.

Normally, about 20 trains are withdrawn from the lines during non-peak hours — 12.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. But in view of the festival rush, these trains will be kept in service for extra trips.

The Delhi Metro normally witnesses huge rush of commuters on Raksha Bandhan. The ridership increases by about one lakh on the festival day every year.

According to Delhi Metro, last year 17 lakh passengers travelled on the festival day.

Apart from additional train trips, extra manpower would be deployed at the customer facilitation and ticket counters on Raksha Bandhan day, the official said in a statement.

Delhi Metro operates over 2,700 trips a day, covering about 70,000 km and carrying around 1.8 million passengers on week days.

Raksha Bandhan showcases the bond of love between brothers and sisters. Rakhi, a colourful string, is tied on the wrists of brothers’ right wrist by sisters who pray for their well-being and the brothers promise to take care of them.