Ahmedabad Metro extends services as ridership jumps 66% during IPL final

Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation said Ahmedabad Metro carried 195,868 passenger journeys on May 31, the day of the IPL final at Narendra Modi Stadium, up 66% from 117,939 a week earlier. The operator said it ran 62 extra train services and kept trains moving into the early hours of June 1 to clear post-match crowds. The last train from Motera Metro Station toward APMC left at 2:19 a.m., while the final train from Old High Court departed at 2:45 a.m. The figures show how a single stadium event can reshape transport demand across the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar network. ### How big was the spike on IPL final night? GMRC said the jump was concentrated across both phases of the network, with Phase 1 carrying 177,106 passenger journeys on May 31 versus 103,545 on May 24. Phase 2 carried 18,762 journeys, up from 14,394 a week earlier, according to the operator’s data. Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera was the main draw. (deshgujarat.com) DD India, citing GMRC, said the surge was driven by thousands of spectators traveling to and from the IPL final at the stadium. ### Why did trains run well past the planned closing time? GMRC had originally planned to run extended IPL-night services only until 12:30 a.m. on match day. The operator said the post-match rush was larger than expected, and services were kept running beyond that window to meet passenger demand. “Metro services remained operational till 2:19 a.m. to meet passenger requirements,” GMRC said in a statement cited by DD India. (deshgujarat.com) (ddindia.co.in) The late-night pattern was not entirely improvised. On April 2, GMRC had already announced that selected IPL day-night matches at Narendra Modi Stadium would receive extended metro operations, with trains running beyond normal hours and special paper tickets priced at 50 rupees for return journeys during those late windows. (ddindia.co.in) ### Which routes carried fans out of the stadium area? GMRC said the last Motera-to-APMC train left at 2:19 a.m. and the final train from Old High Court, which connects the East-West Corridor, left at 2:45 a.m. The last service from Motera toward Gandhinagar departed at 12:24 a.m., according to the operator. In its earlier IPL operations plan, GMRC had said late-night boarding during extended hours would be limited to Motera Stadium and Sabarmati stations, with onward travel available across both Ahmedabad corridors and to Mahatma Mandir on the Gandhinagar corridor. (english.gujaratsamachar.com) The operator also said advance-purchased regular tickets would not be valid after 10 p.m. on match nights, when only the special paper ticket would be accepted for entry from those stations. (deshgujarat.com) ### Who helped manage the crowd beyond the metro operator? GMRC said Ahmedabad Police and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation supported passenger movement during the final-night operation. The operator thanked commuters for what it described as disciplined use of the system during the event. DD India reported that the metro extension followed a packed final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium. (english.gujaratsamachar.com) That match, held on the night of May 31, generated the heavy late-night outflow that pushed services beyond the planned cutoff. ### What does this say about future match-night planning? GMRC’s April schedule showed the operator had already built special IPL-night service plans around several day-night fixtures at Narendra Modi Stadium, including longer operating hours and dedicated fare arrangements. (deshgujarat.com) The May 31 figures suggest those plans can still require further extension when crowd volumes exceed the original timetable. (ddindia.co.in) GMRC said in its earlier notice that the special IPL-night arrangements covered multiple April and May fixtures at the stadium. The operator has not, in the material reviewed, announced a new post-final service plan beyond those match-day extensions. (english.gujaratsamachar.com)