JOIN USMonday blues for Metro commuters
Thousands of Metro commuters had a tough time travelling on the Blueline on Monday as train services were disrupted for over two hours due to overhead electrification problem.
A technical fault hit the busiest line — Dwarka to Noida City Centre/Vaishali — resulting in overcrowding at stations and bunching of trains causing delays.
According to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, train services were affected on Blueline due to a problem in an insulator on the overhead electrification, which transmits energy to trains, between Shadipur and Patel Nagar stations towards Noida City Centre.
“The problem started at 1.11 pm and was rectified by 3.12 pm due to which the services had to be run on single line between Kirti Nagar and Patel Nagar in the affected period. This resulted in delayed running of trains on the entire corridor by eight to 10 minutes, said a DMRC spokesperson.
“Once it was located, the insulator was replaced within 12 minutes. Three repair teams were rushed to the spot from the Yamuna Bank, Mundka and Najafgarh depots,” he added. Passengers were stranded at almost all the stations on the Blue corridor.
“Usually I take 45 to 50 minutes to reach Rajiv Chowk form Dwarka. But today it took me more than 1.30 hours to reach my destination,” said Rahul Awasthy, a businessman.
While the DMRC claimed Metro services on all other corridors remained normal, Rakesh Kumar, a student said, “The trains were coming at an interval of 10 to 13 minutes at Mayur Vihar Phase 1 even at 4 pm. And they were overcrowded. I literally had to push the fellow passengers to get in.”
A train shuttles every three minutes between Dwarka and Yamuna Bank. From there every alternate train goes to Vaishali and Noida City Centre.
A Metro official said regular announcements were made at all the stations and in trains about the delay due to the technical problem.
The 49-km Blueline covers 43 stations in some of the most populous parts of the capital. It is the longest Delhi Metro corridor.
Commuters said that the train was moving at restricted speeds during the night on the Blue Line.
“It took me almost 40 minutes to reach Uttam Nagar from Rajouri Garden station.
Otherwise usually it takes 10 to 12 minutes. And the train kept stopping between stations. It halted for five minutes between Tagore Garden and Subhash Nagar stations,” said Vikrant Singh, commuting after 9 pm on the corridor.