And the first impact of the 26-per cent increase in commuter traffic between 2006 and 2007 has been on the stoppage time at stations: now up to five minutes in peak hours.

“My travel time has increased by at least 10 minutes on the yellow line because we have to get off at Kahsmiri Gate station and take another train to the university,” says Prakriti Chabra, Delhi University student and a resident of Sarita Vihar. “Similarly, we have to wait for another 10 minutes at the Vishwavidyalaya station to take a train back.”

Delhi Metro spokesperson Anuj Dayal concedes just as much. “Traffic on the Metro has increased and we are falling short of trains,” he says. “We have ordered about 500 coaches that should be shipped in by the end of this year.”

DMRC runs 60 trains on its three lines at present.

The increased commuter traffic has also forced DMRC to recently split the otherwise direct journey between Central Secretariat and Delhi University at Kashmere Gate. The junction is the busiest at the morning and evening rush hours.

Metro officials say the split journey is a way to ensure there are enough trains to manage the traffic: trains emptied at Kashmiri Gate are then diverted to other routes to cope with the rush. “Commuter traffic between Kashmere Gate and DU is generally low,” Dayal says, “so we run trains up to Kashmere Gate and then divert them to other routes.”

He says many Delhiites took, and then stuck on, to the Metro when Blueline buses went off the roads last year to protest the government’s crackdown on safety standards. The rush, he says, is more on west Delhi’s line 3, also known as the blue line.

Metro figures say some 7.5 lakh people took the trains on one of the days when the private buses went off the road — the average daily commuter strength is 6.5 lakh.