Magenta Line services hit for nearly 8 hours due to signalling issue

Delhi Metro's Magenta Line faced an 8-hour disruption due to signaling issues, causing delays, crowded stations, and longer travel times for commuters.

New Delhi: Delhi Metro services on the Magenta Line (Botanical Garden-Krishna Park Extension) were affected for nearly eight hours on Wednesday due to a signalling problem, resulting in reduced speeds, crowded stations and trains, and longer travel times.

DMRC said the technical fault was reported on the Kalkaji Mandir-Botanical Garden section of the line from 10:30 am and was rectified by 6 pm. (HT Archive)

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said the technical fault was reported on the Kalkaji Mandir-Botanical Garden section of the line from 10:30 am and was rectified by 6 pm.

“As a result, trains were being run at a restricted speed in this section resulting into minor bunching of trains,” said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, corporate communications at DMRC.

The official said normal train services were available on the rest of the line, but commuters reported delays across the entire line, stretching to hours for some, who remained stuck in the metro.

“Today, the service is bad for both sides. I boarded from Jasola at 3.40pm and just now reached Panchsheel Park,” said Gayatri, a commuter on X at around 5:30 pm.

Harsh Datt, another commuter, posted on X, stating he had been inside the Metro for over 50 minutes, adding no announcement was made when he boarded the metro.

Visuals also emerged of packed metro trains and busy stations, particularly Hauz Khas and Botanical Garden.

Others said the delays were so lengthy that they had to pay extra money to exit the station. The Delhi Metro charges a penalty for exceeding the allowed travel time, usually ₹10 per hour, up to a maximum of ₹50.

“While exiting, we were required to pay ₹10 as our tickets had expired due to no fault of ours. Please instruct your customer care to be sympathetic and not unreasonable…” said Avani Tewari, another commuter.

Ankur Jain, who boarded the metro at Hauz Khas soon after the disruption began, said it took him close to 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach Sukhdev Vihar.

However, the official said that to avoid any inconvenience to passengers, announcements were also made at the stations and on the trains on the Magenta Line, in addition to advising passengers to use alternate routes/lines if required.