Delhi Metro's Blue Line and Pink Line resume services after 171-day hiatus due to COVID-19

New Delhi: Delhi Metro's Blue Line and Pink Line resumed services with curtailed operation timings on Wednesday after being closed for 171 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

Trains are to operate in batches of four-hour each from 7-11 am in the morning and 4-8 am in the evening in the first stage.

On Monday, the Delhi Metro had resumed services with curtailed operations on the Yellow Line, since the closure of the urban transporter on 22 March.

The Blue and Pink lines resumed services today. Slowly and steadily, Delhi Metro will be back to take you places! #MetroBackOnTrack pic.twitter.com/eG5JA1QM4w

— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) September 9, 2020

The Ministry of Home Affairs had recently issued guidelines allowing the Delhi Metro to resume operations in a graded manner, following which the DMRC had said it would be done in three stages from September 7-12.

Under stage one, Yellow Line or Line 2 and Rapid Metro were made operational with restricted service hours -- 7-11 AM and 4-8 PM.

While nearly 15,500 passengers availed the Yellow Line and Rapid Metro combined on Monday, the figures stood at nearly 17,600 on Tuesday.

Metro services in Delhi-NCR was closed since March 22 due to the pandemic.

The DMRC has appealed to people to use the rapid transport only if urgently needed.