Delhi Metro ready to meet Commonwealth Games rush (Lead)

Delhi Metro Sunday said it was making special arrangements to cater to the huge rush at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games.

The company said the upcoming Delhi Metro station would have five entry and exit points as well as extra staircases of much wider width "so that many people can be accommodated easily".

"We are making special arrangements at the Stadium Metro station from the opening of the Games Oct 3 to the closing ceremony Oct 14," Delhi Metro spokesman Anuj Dayal said.

"The staircase width, which is normally 2.4 metres in other stations, will be as much as 4.25 metres at the Stadium Metro station to accommodate the extra rush. There will also be four escalators connecting the concourse with the platform," he said.

According to Dayal, the station can deal with 4,000 passengers per minute in peak time and has been designed to accommodate a total traffic flow of 80,000 people per hour in the platform area of 1,800 sq. metres.

There will be 20 automatic fare collection (AFC) gates instead of eight AFC gates normally provided at most stations.

"The operations department of DMRC is preparing a special plan and procedure for clearance of commuters who will be coming for the opening and closing ceremony by Metro trains, with high frequency of Metro trains to ensure very fast clearance at the platform to avoid crowding," he said.

"Volunteers and Sahayaks (helpers) will be posted to assist passengers at all important points of the station ," Dayal added.

A special control room will be established at the station to control public announcements.

Delhi Metro will provide easy connectivity to 10 out of 11 venues of the Commonwealth Games. These are the Games Village, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi University, Thyagaraj Complex, Siri Fort Sports Complex, National Stadium, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, Talkotora Indoor Stadium, Yamuna Sports Complex and R.K. Tennis Complex.