Chennai Metro Rail mulls over ‘single tapping’ system on days of large crowd

CHENNAI: As a take away from the chaos that erupted in Metro stations on Sunday and for better crowd management, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) is planning to introduce a ‘single tapping’ system at Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates, when there are bigger events in the city.

The higher officials and the team at CMRL are working on introducing the system, for which it will hold talks with the State Bank of India (SBI) as well.

Speaking to DT next, a CMRL higher official said, “More than additional AFC gates, only innovative and seamless techniques will help in both crowd management and easy flow of passengers. For which, we’re considering single tapping only on days of bigger events.”

But, CMRL is facing challenges in introducing the system, as only the closed loop card (travel card) will be easier to enable it. “Unlike travel cards, the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) requires tapping at both the entry and exit gates of the station. Hence, to enable it for single tapping, we’ll approach SBI for relevant software changes,” the official added.

Explaining further, the official also stated that the CMRL would devise a protocol for quick passage of commuters at entry points, and be charged at the exit station. “In case the venue station is Government Estate Metro station, we’ll let the crowd pass through AFC gates, and charge them at the exit station through the ‘single tapping’ system. While tracking the entire ridership, we’ll know those who have not tapped in at the entry station,” a department official added.

Incidentally, the department is still on the initial step of deliberation on which methods are feasible. “On Sunday, between 40-50 per cent of passengers were mostly first time Metro Rail travellers. Through IPL and air show, CMRL is sure to have a high ridership spike very soon. Hence, such techniques will be vital in handling huge passenger flow,” the official noted.