Delhi Metro starts at 4:30 am on 16 November for Chhath Puja Usha Arghya
Synopsis
Delhi Metro will run from 4:30 am on 16 November — 90 minutes ahead of schedule — with trains every 15 minutes on all lines, so millions of Chhath Puja devotees can reach Yamuna ghats before sunrise for Usha Arghya. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced the move on X and will personally offer arghya at Elephant Ghat near ITO.
Key Takeaways
Delhi Metro will start services at 4:30 am on 16 November 2026 , 90 minutes before the usual 6 am opening.
Early services will run at a 15-minute frequency on all lines until regular timetable kicks in.
The arrangement is for Usha Arghya , the sunrise ritual of Chhath Puja , to ease devotee movement to ghats.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta announced the timings on social media platform X and will offer arghya at Elephant Ghat , near ITO .
No changes to Metro fares or entry norms have been announced for the special window.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will roll out services from 4:30 am on 16 November 2026 — a full 90 minutes ahead of the standard 6 am start — to ease the movement of millions of devotees heading to ghats across the capital for Usha Arghya, the sunrise offering that marks the climactic ritual of Chhath Puja. The early-start arrangement covers all terminal stations across every Metro line.
Service Schedule and Frequency
During the pre-dawn window, trains will run at a 15-minute frequency on all lines until regular revenue services begin as per the standard timetable for the day, according to officials. The extended hours are designed specifically to absorb the surge of devotees making their way to riverbanks and designated ghat sites before sunrise.
What Delhi CM Rekha Gupta Said
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced the extended Metro timings on social media platform X, addressing devotees directly. 'Tomorrow, November 16, on the sacred occasion of Usha Arghya, Delhi Metro will begin running at 4:30 am. Trains will be available on all lines every 15 minutes during the early hours,' she wrote.
Gupta added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had made the arrangements to ensure that 'our mothers, sisters, elders and millions of devotees heading out to worship Chhathi Maiya face no difficulty reaching the ghats.' She also invited Delhiites to join her at Elephant Ghat, near ITO on the Yamuna riverbank, where she is set to offer arghya to the rising Sun god alongside fasting devotees.
Context: Chhath and Public Transport in Delhi
Chhath Puja draws enormous crowds in Delhi, particularly from communities with roots in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and the final Usha Arghya session — performed at sunrise — requires devotees to be at the water's edge before dawn. The DMRC has a precedent of extending services for major festivals; this year's arrangement follows a similar pattern to past Chhath editions, though officials note that the scale of ghat development across Delhi has expanded under the current administration.
What Devotees Should Know
Devotees travelling by Metro on 16 November should note that the 15-minute frequency applies during the early-morning window only; services will transition to the regular schedule once standard operating hours begin. The DMRC has not announced any changes to fares or entry norms for the special window.
With Chhath Puja drawing lakhs of participants to ghats along the Yamuna and other water bodies, civic agencies are expected to remain on heightened alert through the early-morning hours.
Point of View
And it matters each time because Usha Arghya is unforgiving in its timing. What is worth watching is the political framing: Chief Minister Gupta's X post makes the arrangement a BJP government talking point ahead of Delhi's ongoing political competition with the opposition over governance optics. The bigger question for city planners is whether ghat infrastructure — not just Metro frequency — has scaled to absorb the growing Chhath congregation in Delhi, now one of the largest outside Bihar.
NationPress
15 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What time will Delhi Metro start on 16 November for Chhath Puja?
Delhi Metro will begin services at 4:30 am on 16 November 2026, running 90 minutes earlier than the standard 6 am start, specifically to help Chhath Puja devotees reach ghats for the Usha Arghya sunrise ritual.
What is the Metro frequency during the early-morning Chhath window?
Trains will operate at a 15-minute frequency on all lines from 4:30 am until regular revenue services commence as per the day's standard timetable. All terminal stations across every line are covered.
What is Usha Arghya and why does it require early Metro services?
Usha Arghya is the sunrise offering on the final morning of Chhath Puja, during which devotees stand in water at ghats and offer prayers to the rising Sun god. Because it must be performed at sunrise, devotees need to reach riverside ghats well before dawn, necessitating the early Metro start.
Where will Delhi CM Rekha Gupta observe Chhath Puja?
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has announced she will offer arghya to the rising Sun god at Elephant Ghat, near ITO on the Yamuna riverfront, on the morning of 16 November alongside fasting devotees.
Are Metro fares or entry rules different during the Chhath early-morning window?
The DMRC has not announced any changes to fares or entry norms for the special early-morning window on 16 November. Devotees should follow standard ticketing and boarding procedures.
