Thousands of metro commuters had a harrowing experience this morning after trains were delayed and many were left stranded at various stations on the Dwarka to Noida city centre route as services were disrupted due to a problem in the over-head electrification (OHE).
“Due to an OHE problem between Karol Bagh and R. K. Ashram station, train services are being run in three loops on Line 3. Trains are being run on short loops between Karol Bagh to Dwarka Sector 21 and Barakhamba to Noida/Vaishali and a single line between Karol Bagh and Barakhamba since 11:40 am,” a DMRC spokesperson said.
Mitali, a commuter who works in central Delhi, said: “Trains were stopping for at least 10 to 15 minutes at the stations on the route and running very slow. I reached office an hour late.”
Announcements were being made in trains that ventilation and lights were running on the battery system.
It was a chaotic situation at all stations on the line as several people were stranded for more than an hour waiting for trains to arrive. Office-goers had a harrowing time with metro services delayed and major traffic snarls on arterial roads as heavy rains lashed the national Capital.
The DMRC spokesperson said metro services resumed normal operations by 12:50 p.m.
OHE problems on metro trains have become common now.
In July this year, owing to electrification problems, metro services on the blue line to Noida were disrupted for over three hours.
On June 11 this year, a train going to HUDA City Centre on the busy yellow line broke down in the middle of the tunnel between Central Secretariat and Udhyog Bhawan stations, giving over 1,791 passengers on board the train a difficult time and severely affecting metro services across the city during the morning rush hour.
Meanwhile, due to clashes between two groups in Tilak Vihar area last night, entry gates at metro stations on the blue line in close proximity to the area were shut.
“Due to imposition of Section 144 in Tilak Nagar area by the Delhi Police, two entry gates each at Subhash Nagar, Tagore Garden and Tilak Nagar and one entry gate at Janakpuri East station were closed at 8:23 a.m. Other gates of these stations are open so stations are working normally,” the spokesperson said.