In light of the Holi festival celebrations on March 25, 2024, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has made adjustments to its train schedules. This alteration will affect the entire metro network spanning the national capital region.
Holi, also known as the ‘Festival of Colours,’ marks a significant cultural celebration symbolizing the triumph of good over evil and the advent of spring. Recognizing the importance of this festival, DMRC has issued a circular detailing the revised metro timings.
Ordinarily, Delhi Metro services kick off at 05:00 hrs and run until 23:30 hrs, except the Airport Express Line (AEL), which operates from 04:40 hrs to 23:40 hrs. However, on March 25, 2024 (Monday), in observance of Holi, metro services will not be available until 14:30 hrs across all lines, including the Rapid Metro Gurgaon and Airport Express Line.
Anuj Dayal, the Principal Executive Director of Corporate Communication at DMRC, emphasized, “On the day of the ‘Holi festival, i.e., 25th March 2024 (Monday), Metro services will NOT be available till 2:30 PM on all Lines of the Delhi Metro including Rapid Metro/Airport Express Line.”
To accommodate commuters, Delhi Metro will commence its train services from all terminal stations at 14:30 hrs. DMRC assured that metro operations will resume as usual after this time. “Metro train services will thus start at 2:30 PM from terminal stations on all Lines on 25th March and will continue normally thereafter,” stated the metro official.
Similarly, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses will also observe a temporary suspension of services until 2:00 PM on Holi. The DTC announced that in light of the festival, all city bus services will remain inactive until 2:00 PM on Friday.
An official statement clarified, “In the evening shift, some selected buses will be operated as per the service traffic requirement on Russia. Since the traffic load will be very less on this day, only 898 buses will be operated in the afternoon service.”