Rs 500 fine for commuters without face mask, Rs 100 for spitting: Noida Metro

Noida: Commuters found travelling without face masks in the Noida-Greater Noida metro rail network will have to pay a fine of Rs 500 and those caught spitting will have to cough up Rs 100.

The services of the Noida-Greater Noida Metro, also known as the Aqua Line, are set to resume from Monday after a gap of five months with several anti-COVID precautions like commuters maintaining social distancing and having face cover in place, the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) said on Saturday.

“Passengers found spitting inside metro stations, trains or any other metro premises will have to pay a fine of Rs 100 for the first time and Rs 500 for any subsequent occurrence. Passengers found travelling without masks in the metro trains, stations or any other metro premises will have to pay a fine of Rs 500,” the NMRC said in a statement.

“These penalties will be imposed strictly by the NMRC staff so that commuters follow the guidelines and help the NMRC in preventing the spread of the coronavirus,” it added.

NMRC’s senior officials on Saturday held a detailed inspection of the complete Aqua Line to check the health of the metro system and to avoid any last-minute glitches in its operation.

The inspection was carried under the guidance of NMRC Chief Operating Officer Ravindra Saxena and other officers of the Operations, Electrical and Rolling Stock team, it stated.

“All the systems were thoroughly checked by officials. All the officials travelled in a rail motor trolley to check the tracks and signalling from the Depot station in Greater Noida to Sector 51 Station in Noida,” the NMRC said.

“They stopped at various stations on the way and inspected each and every aspect related to the functioning of the Metro trains and all its related systems,” it added.

The inspection was also done to check the preparedness of the NMRC for beginning metro services after the lockdown of almost five months and to fill lapses, if any, and to check the aspects related to the implementation of the guidelines adopted by NMRC to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.