Sunday was certainly a fun day for thousands of people who took a ride on Mumbai’s newest metro rail corridor – Dahanukarwadi-Dahisar-Aarey – unhindered by masks and restrictions on social distancing. However, there were some technical glitches and teething problems at various stations on Day 2.
THE JOURNEY
I reached Magathane metro station - on the Line 7 (Dahisar-Aarey) route - around 5.25pm. This station is above the busy Western Express Highway. On the overbridge, there were quite a few people shooting videos and photographs of the new line inaugurated by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on April 2. Security personnel were busy dissuading them from doing so, with the public arguing and imploring to be allowed to do so, as it was their first visit. At the ticket counter, commuter queries were about the provision for return tickets, card tickets, what if the paper ticket got crumpled and the timing of the last train from Aarey and Dahanukarwadi. The fare chart displayed at the counter showed ticket prices ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 30.
On the platform, the indicators displayed the expected times of arrival (ETA) and the destinations of the next few trains. The ETA for the train at 5.29pm of six minutes and it arrived on the dot. Unfortunately, there was no place to sit, as families, friends and groups of children enjoying their Sunday ride had already occupied all the seats.
Throughout the commute, passengers were busy shooting photographs and videos on their smartphones. Each time a station approached, there was a jerk before the train halted at the platform. It was tough to maintain one’s balance as the train jerked and halted twice, to ensure that its doors and the platform screen doors were somewhat in sync when it stopped at the platform.
There were howls of laughter each time the train neared a station. Kids ran around inside, holding and hanging by the handrails, striking poses for their parents to snap up.
When the train reached Mandapeshwar station around 5.54pm, there was an announcement – there would be a slight delay owing to technical issues. The doors of both the train and platform were open while its orange lights were on, instead of flashing, which is usually an indication of doors about to close.
The door indicator displayed a message: ‘There will be a short delay in service, we apologise for the inconvenience’, as ‘Station Hold’ flashed. It also mentioned the delay would be ‘2 mins’ long, though the actual delay was longer. There were continuous announcements being made as all this was happening. Finally, the train left Mandapeshwar station at 5.59pm.
It was 6.06pm when I got down at Eksar. This station seemed relatively empty. Following the directions of the exit indicator, I exited and went back to the ticket counter for the return trip. Here, I saw the staff helping people and describing the current system as the public asked for return tickets. The staff explained how there would be a provision for return tickets in the coming days, once the system stabilized.
The other innovation in the new metro is the scanner which shows the status of the ticket. It shows the starting station, destination, the time of purchase in Marathi, Hindi and English. After the initial scan as I entered the station at Eksar, the QR code scan failed. However, I got help in rectifying the ticket and was able to enter the premises.
Most of the people I saw on my journey weren’t wearing masks. I boarded the 6.15pm train back to Aarey. Passengers were checking the destination boards as they discussed the route, how the colour coding worked for Line 7 and Line 2A etc. Some were also comparing it to metro services abroad. It was 6.40pm by the time I reached Akurli station on Line 7.
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