73,797
passengers on Noida section

Rs 9.69 lakh
revenue earned from sectio
(figures by DMRC, till 6 pm Friday

Even a 30-minute delayed start on Day One from Noida did not put residents of the satellite city off, as a steady stream kept its date with the first train at 6.30 am.

For businessman Sanjay Dayal, it meant setting the alarm clock early, to reach the Sector-32 City Centre station at 5.40 am — he was there to catch the first Metro out of Noida, scheduled initially for 6 am.

Though the station had barely opened its doors at that relatively unearthly hour, Dayal wasn’t the first to enter it. That distinction went to O P Kavi Raj and Shobha Kaviraj, an elderly couple headed for the New Delhi railway station. A retired executive director with the National Fertilisers Ltd, Kaviraj was to take a 7.15 am train from New Delhi to Ludhiana to meet his former chairman. “Though we were informed that the first train is at 6 am and the display board, on reaching the station, showed 6.30 am, I do not mind it on the first day,” Kaviraj said.

Dayal, a trader in metals, called it a “landmark change” for Noida: “After the hike in bus fares and the unjustified rates charged by autorickshaw drivers, Metro is a safe and comfortable journey, especially for women.”

For Sector-51 resident Anu Behl, a Metro ride replaced the morning walk today. “We decided to ditch the walk today even if a Metro ride means getting off at the very next station — Golf Course,” she said.

... contd.