Thousands of commuters had a harrowing time reaching their destinations as Metro services were disrupted on the Blue Line during peak evening hours on Wednesday.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said that a strand of overhead electrification wire snapped between Dwarka and Dwarka Mor stations.

“Due to this, the trains were operational on a single line between Dwarka and Janakpuri West stations since 6.45 pm,” a DMRC spokesperson said.

“The DMRC ran a short loop service between Janakpuri West and Rajiv Chowk stations.”

The services resumed after three hours, which caused traffic snarls as passengers came to the roads in search of alternative transport.

“I left Preet Vihar Metro station as the trains were coming in 20 minutes interval and they were overcrowded. I couldn’t get into three trains, so I decide to take an autorickshaw,” Patel Nagar resident Sonia Kumar said.

DMRC said services were resumed at 9 pm. But commuters complained that trains on the other Metro lines too were also running in an interval of 15 minutes, which led to crowd build up at stations and roads close to the stations.

“I entered Rajiv Chowk station at 9.30 pm, and the first Metro reached the Yellow Line after 15 minutes,” Lajpat Nagar resident Roma Chaudhary said.

The entry gates of Rajiv Chowk station and some on the Dwarka-Noida City Centre/Vaishali line were shut. “It was done to manage crowd in those stations,” the spokesperson said.

“I waited outside Jhandewalan Metro station for over half-an-hour from 7.30 pm. But the authorities didn’t open the gates. So I took a bus,” Mayur Vihar Phase-1 resident Lalit Thakur said.

Frustrated commuters came on the roads close to stations along the Blue Line and in central Delhi areas like Parliament Street, Central Secretariat, Patel Chowk and Connaught Place.

Buses also got overcrowded within minutes of the Metro snag, and autorickshaw drivers allegedly started overcharging. “Whenever there is a glitch in the Metro network, autorickshaw drivers start fleecing people,” private firm employee Siddhant Maheshwari said.

Some other commuters were forced to walk long distances. Priyanka Kaushik, a DU student, walked from Laxmi Nagar to Yamuna Bank station as she could not find alternative transport.

“With the Metro shut, people were hanging on the doors of crowded buses. I chose to walk and not risk my life,” she said.