The ever-increasing ridership on the Delhi Metro network surpassed all previous records on Thursday with over 25 lakh commuters using the services.
"The Delhi Metro recorded the highest ridership of 25,04,900 on August 8, surpassing the earlier record set on July 29 when 24,25,897 people travelled by the Metro," said Anuj Dayal, DMRC Executive Director (Corporate Communications).
Around 9,81,252 used the Dwarka Sector 21 to Noida City Centre/Vaishali route. The second highest footfall was recorded on Jahangirpuri to HUDA City Centre Metro line with 8,87,003 passengers.
While Metro from Dilshad Garden to Rithala recorded 3,60,512 passengers, Central Secretariat to Badarpur recorded 1,85,464 commuters and 90,669 passengers used the Inderlok/Kirti Nagar to Mundka route throughout the day. Meanwhile, the ridership on Airport Express link increased from 10,500 to 12,500 passengers on the same day.
"In a bid to tackle overcrowding in the Metro trains, DMRC will also introduce the first-ever eight-coach train on the Dwarka Sector 21 to NOIDA City Centre/Vaishali line, by the end of this month," Dayal said. Two eight-coach trains are currently being tested for commissioning into services, he added. At present, 24 eight-coach trains run on Jahangirpuri to HUDA City Centre line after the introduction of the first such train on December 24, last year. A total of 68 trains are being converted to eight-coach ones. The Delhi Metro has expanded its network to 190 km since it began operations in 2002.