Passengers left stranded as glitches stall Metro

A major technical glitch affected the running of Metro trains on the Jehangirpuri-HUDA City Centre line on Friday evening.

A major technical glitch affected the running of Metro trains on the Jehangirpuri-HUDA City Centre line on Friday evening.

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Lakhs of commuters were stuck at stations following a problem in the overhead electrification (OHE) that runs the trains. Thousands of visitors from the ongoing India International Trade Fair (IIFT) at Pragati Maidan added to the long queue of passengers waiting to get on the trains.

A month ago also a massive technical glitch had hit service on Delhi Metro’s line 3 (Dwarka-Noida/Anand Vihar).

Metro services came to a complete halt around 7.30 pm between Central Secretariat and HUDA City Centre after the OHE failed to supply power to trains at three locations, Udyog Bhawan, Green Park and Sikanderpur metro stations, causing severe chaos.

Hundreds of people were seen standing outside the Udyog Bhawan, Central Secretariat and Patel Chowk stations till late evening. Two Metro stations, Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan, were closed for some time due to excessive rush.

Imran Ahmed, an interior designing student, was annoyed as he got delayed by at least two hours to reach his home after a visit to the trade fair.

Some passengers alleged there were short-circuits on the OHE line. Metro officials however, could not confirm the same.

Senior technical officials rushed to the spot but till the filing of the report they had not succeeded in identifying the problem. "The problem is yet to be identified. But we managed to start operating the trains on a single track at a restricted speed of 20 kmph by around 8.45 pm," said Anuj Dayal, DMRC spokesperson.

Metro head E Sreedharan has personally been looking into the matter, Dayal added.