Kolkata, Sep 14 (IANS): The Kolkata Metro Rail resumed its operations on Monday after a hiatus of 176 days due to the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said.

The services on the Noapara to Kavi Subhas and Salt Lake Sector-V to Salt Lake Stadium routes will be available between 8 am and 8 pm daily, expect on Sunday's, while observing strict Covid-19 guidelines.

The last train will start at 7 pm sharp from both terminus on the route. If any Metro station falls in the containment zone, it will remain closed to public, officials said.

All passengers were checked by officials of the Railway Protection Force and the Kolkata Police before they were allowed to enter the Metro premises this morning. Each passenger underwent thermal screening.

The services were resumed only after thorough sanitation of every bogey. The Metro authorities are issuing only smart cards at the booking counters and no tokens.

Face masks have been made mandatory for commuting on the Metro rail. Only three persons will be allowed to use an elevator at a time at Metro stations. No passenger will be allowed to commute by Metro if he or she has cough or fever, Metro sources said.

Only Metro officials showing their identity cards were allowed to enter the stations, though they had to collect the necessary passes from the counters. Special passes were issued to employees of contract agencies who work for Kolkata Metro, officials said.

As per the new guidelines, Metro trains will now stop for 30 seconds at each station, instead of 20 seconds earlier. Passengers are not allowed to sit on seats with cross marks so as to ensure physical distance between two passengers.