All cheer beginning of life in Metro

LUCKNOW: The dawn of September 5 was historic for Lucknow, with public thronging at the Transportnagar Metro station from the wee-hours to get the first glimpse of Metro rail chugging on the priority corridor. Though trials had begun in December 2016, Metro ride on Tuesday was special as it marked the beginning, to be followed by public launch from Wednesday.
People gathered on terraces of houses along Kanpur Road, crowded near the station and cheered aloud to welcome the new mode of transport in the city.The excitement peaked with the arrival of political leaders and dignitaries from Centre and state government participating in the event to witness the flagging off.
The 8.5km priority corridor from Transportnagar to Charbagh opened at 6.30am. The site was jampacked and for security, police and Lucknow Metro officials had made sure no one entered without the special pass issued only to some. One had to pass through four layers of security to access the train standing at the platform, decorated with flowers.
The station was all decked up, clean, decorated with flowers and the Tricolour with a beautiful rangoli at the entrance to welcome guests. Metro station staff, operations’ team at token counters and customer relationship assistants welcomed the guests.
To ensure there was no plastic waste, two water kiosks at each station dispensed chilled, free water. The station has ample provisions for clean toilets, dustbins, escalators, lifts and signs at every corner to guide.
Many who haven’t travelled in a Metro train were enthralled with the beauty and cleanliness of the premises, the facilities and even the beautiful red colour of the train. Some guests had brought children who were equally excited to board the train. People said Lucknow Metro will give the common man the air-conditioned comfort of commuting in less than half the usual time.
People began gathering at the platform as soon as Union home minister Rajnath Singh and chief minister Aditya Nath Yogi approached the train to flag it off. The train was driven by four pilots (two on each side) and it covered all eight stations in 13 minutes. Though the timing for one-side trip is 17 minutes, it took less time on Tuesday as it didn’t stop at the stations.
After a brief pause at Charbagh, the train returned to the culmination point. Along the way, the crowd took selfies, made videos on phone and circulated their photos of the Metro journey on social media. Some chanted Vande Mataram and patriotic slogans. As the train stopped, everyone found the opportunity to click pictures with the new mode of transport.