Chennai Metro Rail starts the process of changing Phase I ticketing gates
Chennai Metro Rail has finally taken the first step towards changing the ticketing gates for the phase I network and have issued tenders. This move has become essential for commuters, as minor glitches occur due to wear and tear at times and these old ticketing gates briefly stop or sometimes take more time to process the new Singara Chennai cards and other online QR code payments.
In stations with high footfalls like Guindy, AG-DMS, Thousand Lights, Chennai airport and Chennai Central, commuters encounter issues at the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates or ticketing gates during the peak hours.
Since the launch of train services in 2015, gradually over a period of time, Chennai Metro Rail has floated ticketing options like tokens, smartcards, NCMC, WhatsApp and QR Code tickets. Commuters say they haven't faced issues while swiping smartcards, but while using the NCMC and QR Code tickets they have encountered difficulties on some occasions.
R Boopalan, who swipes the new Singara Chennai card for travel in Chennai Metro Rail trains, says, when compared to the old contactless smartcards, he has felt that the new Singara cards take a little more time to recognise and open the gate on quite a few occasions. 'During lean hours, this is not a problem. But in the peak hours when people are rushing to work, the queue takes time to clear since thousands of people have switched to using the Singara Chennai card or the QR Code tickets. It is high time they upgrade the infrastructure and fix new gates,' he said.
I. Yuvaraj, a working professional, opts to use the Singara Chennai card when he commutes alone and purchases group QR tickets during his travel with his family. 'There have been instances wherein the gates have stopped working for a brief period and the queue will get diverted into the other gates and congestion occurs. Then, when I use the group ticket and travel with my family, there have been a few times when the gate gets stuck. We must then reach out to the staff who will open it. I'm glad that newer ticketing gates are going to be put up and we will be rid of these issues,' he added.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they will procure a total of 1,200 ticketing gates of which nearly 500 gates will be installed in the 45 km phase I network. The gates in the 9 km phase I extension network were changed only a few years back and hence the need doesn't arise now. 'We have floated bids for the project now and if the contract is finalised in three months, then the gates will arrive later this year. Then, we plan to replace the old gates with new ones within a year,' an official said.
Also, they have implemented another measure wherein they have decided to keep the gate in 'open mode' in stations with high footfall now. As a start, at Thousand Lights, the ticketing gates are open in the peak hours. 'Usually, the gates close and get locked after each swipe. But now it is always open. This has been done to ensure that the new Singara Chennai cards are processed faster and there is no queuing of passengers. But if a passenger tries to get past the gate without a ticket, the gate will lock. If this works well, it will be extended to a few other stations,' another official said.
This was not implemented earlier because in case a child accidentally tries to go past the gate, the gate would get locked suddenly and he or she could get hit. 'But now, we have put up signage at Thousand Lights warning passengers and a staff has also been stationed near the gate,' he added.
Sources said the old AFC gates were purchased more than a decade ago and it was only natural that issues occur. 'The technology was different when the gates were bought during the phase I network. Then when we brought in the Singara Chennai, changes were made to the gate to make them compatible with the old and the new smartcards. So, when we make such changes, some glitches are bound to happen. Hence, changing the gates as a whole and bringing in newer ones is the way forward,' a source said.
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