As the country has ushered into the fourth phase of unlocking, the Ministry of Home Affairs has said that Metro trains across the country can operate from September 7 and the SOPs for the same is likely to be issued on September 2 (Wednesday).

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As per the MHA’s Unlock 4 guidelines, Metro Rails are allowed to operate across India from 7 September, the secretary of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, has said. The Standard Operating Procedure shall be finalized soon for the operation of metros.

Today, we had a discussion with CEOs of Metro Companies across the country on SOP. SOPs will be finalised and shared soon, he said.

As per the earlier guidelines from the MHA, the metro trains will be allowed to operate in a graded manner.

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SOPs tomorrow:

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) ministry is likely to issue detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the functioning of metro trains under the 'Unlock 4' guidelines on Wednesday, an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Officials said that wearing a mask and social distancing norms will be strictly followed once metro trains start operating.

Metro passengers will be encouraged to follow anti-COVID-19 measures, they said, adding fines will be imposed on those violating the guidelines.

There are 17 metro corporations in the country. Once the detailed SOPs are issued by the HUA ministry, they can issue their details keeping in mind local requirements, the official.

The Union home ministry had issued the Unlock 4 guidelines on Saturday under which metro trains would be allowed to resume services from September 7.