New Delhi: In line with the government's 'Digital India' initiative, which endeavours to ensure that the government's services are made available to citizens electronically by improved online infrastructure, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on February 23 launched its revamped official website and mobile application, which are among the world's most feature-rich and advanced interactive digital platforms on Metro Railway.
The new-look official website, as well as a state-of-the-art mobile application of DMRC, were launched on Wednesday at Metro Bhawan for the greater convenience of passengers by Delhi Metro's Managing Director Dr Mangu Singh in the presence of other senior officials.
The new website and mobile application are loaded with many advanced features such as interactive route maps, advanced station search options, real-time first and last train time calculator, next and nearest station alert on the app etc. These new-age facilities have been designed after months of thorough research during which DMRC officials scanned through the websites and mobile applications of all major transport systems across the world.
A comparative study of the official websites of leading Metro systems across the world revealed that Delhi Metro's website has more features for passenger convenience than any other similar website operational in other cities. As part of the research process, a dedicated team of officials also studied the feedback provided by the commuters from time to time and incorporated the necessary improvements. A specialised team of IT professionals has also been roped in to design and maintain the website.
A lot of additional effort has been made to ensure that the website and mobile applications are safe and resistant to virus attacks. Intermittent audits are conducted from time to time to ensure the same. The DMRC website – www.delhimetrorail.com is being hosted on the safe NIC server. The mobile application – DMRC app is also available on the Google Playstore for all kinds of mobile operating systems such as Android and Apple. The website has been designed as a bilingual platform with all features being available both in Hindi and English.
While the earlier website was a combined one with both corporate and passenger information, this new website will be primarily passenger-centric, where a link available on the homepage will lead the user to a separate corporate section. For the first time, DMRC has also integrated its website and the mobile application which will ensure faster updates and flow of information on both platforms. The website and the mobile application are completely dynamic and provide real-time information on the movement of trains, applicable fare, timings etc, which is a vast improvement over the earlier website which was largely static in nature. Valuable information such as the phone numbers of Metro stations as well as the nearest police stations have also been added for the benefit of the passengers.
Trip planner via Interactive Map – The passengers have been provided with the Interactive Map feature on the Website and Mobile App to plan their journey quickly and efficiently. Passengers using the Interactive Map are able to view the complete route for their journey along with information of stations and interchanges on their selected route.
The passengers are also shown the time of the next available train along with total journey time to their destination along with the fare and number of stations in the selected route. The Journey Planner also indicates to the passengers the platforms and direction of travel starting from their origin station and the interchange stations up to their destination.
Know your Station – The DMRC Website has the provision for the passengers to view the complete details of each station in the DMRC network. The various details shown include station location on map, station details, gate details, lift/ escalator availability with location, key nearby places & station facilities.
Advanced Station Facilities Search– For the convenience of passengers, the DMRC website has been provided with an Advanced Facility Search feature on the homepage from which the passengers can do a quick search on the basis of either facility type or Metro line or a specific keyword.
Tour Guide –The Tour Guide is a unique feature catering to tourists and new visitors to the city. In the Tour Guide, a key selection of the major landmarks, historical places & transport hubs like railway stations, airports & ISBTs which a person visiting the city must visit are showcased. To cater to the ease of passengers, the 'Plan your Journey' feature is also provided here so that passengers may see the route to the nearest Metro station or any landmark from anywhere on the Delhi Metro network. For the last mile connectivity from the nearest Metro station to each landmark, the walking time and public transport time information are also provided.
Realtime First and Last Train Time Calculator – Passengers using the DMRC website can check the First and Last Train time for any route between any two stations of the Delhi Metro network using this feature. Passengers can also check the route on basis of the shortest route or minimum interchange route.
Fare Calculator – The Fare Calculator is a quick look feature provided for passengers to determine the normal fare as well as the special fare applicable on any journey undertaken on the DMRC network.
Next Station Alert – Mobile App– On the DMRC Mobile App, passengers using this feature while making their journey on Metro trains will be alerted prior to reaching their destination station via push notifications on their mobile phone. The mobile app requires the GPS to be switched on the mobile device for optimum performance of this feature.
Nearest Stations – Mobile App – The DMRC Mobile App provides the users with a function to find the nearest Metro Station from any location by simply switching on the GPS location on their Mobile Phone and using this feature on the app. They can also see the direction via Google Map to the station from the user's current GPS location.
Know your Line (Line Status with Details) – The DMRC website displays the service status of every line on a real-time basis by showing appropriate colour codes and text to indicate normal or partial Service (green for normal service & amber for partial service). The passengers can view the reasons for any partial service on a line by checking the 'Line Updates' tab.
Additionally, in case of any station closure, it is shown with a different colour code and text to highlight the same (green for open & red for closed). The reason for the station restriction can be viewed on the 'Line Detail' Page under the 'Station Restriction/Special Information' tab.
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