Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) To avoid last minute scramble for trains at Delhi Metro’s busiest stations, passengers will soon get to know from the platform screens if an incoming train has four or six coaches.

Delhi Metro said Monday the information will now flash on screens already existing on platforms to avoid chaos and confusion.

The system will come up at Rajiv Chowk and Kashmere Gate stations within three months.

“The screens, which now display the destination of the train and time of arrival, will also give out if the next train will be a four-coach or six-coach one,” Delhi Metro spokesperson Anuj Dayal said.

The decision comes a day after a Metro guard at Rajiv Chowk station had a narrow escape when he fell on the track while trying to help a four-year-old boy whose foot got stuck between the doors of the last coach.

The toddler was safely rescued by another guard while the one who fell on the track suffered minor injuries.

According to commuters, confusion has become the order of the day at Rajiv Chowk and Kashmere Gate stations since six-coach trains were introduced.

“We don’t know if the next train will have four or six coaches,” commuter Amrita Sinha said.

When a four-coach train approaches the station, commuters queueing up elsewhere for six-coach trains run towards the train resulting in a lot of confusion, Sinha said.

“At times, commuters crane their necks to see if an approaching train has four or six coaches. We are scared they might slip and fall on the track,” Hemant Kumar, a Metro guard, told IANS.

The footfall at Rajiv Chowk station has gone up from 3 lakh a day in 2008 to about 4.5 lakh in 2012. This stands at 2.5 lakh a day at Kashmere Gate.

For now, Delhi Metro makes announcements over loudhailers at Rajiv Chowk and Kashmere Gate about four-coach and six-coach trains.

Delhi Metro makes over 2,400 trips a day, covering about 70,000 km and carrying around 1.8 million passengers on working days.