Repeated delays plague Metro even as commuters suffer

Metro commuters in the national capital had a difficult time today as trains on the over crowded Noida Line were delayed by at least 30 minutes during the morning rush hour due to software malfunctioning.

Metro commuters in the national capital had a difficult time on Saturday as trains on the over crowded Noida Line were delayed by at least 30 minutes during the morning rush hour due to software malfunctioning. Services on Line 3 -- Dwarka Sec 21 to Noida City Centre/Anand Vihar -- were affected due to an "interlocking problem" at the Dwarka Sec 21 station resulting in loss of train identification numbers at around 8.15 AM. With the incident occurring during the morning rush hours, there were long queues on platforms.

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Once the train identification numbers are lost, the trains are not able to move, a DMRC spokesman said, adding that this resulted in bunching of trains. "Though the problem was rectified in around 15 minutes, the bunching of trains on the Line led to delays and normalcy was restored after 40 minutes," the spokesman said. However, passengers claimed that the trains on the line -- which sees the maximum footfall of 6 lakh on weekdays -- were delayed for nearly an hour and there was no announcements.

Anamika, a media professional, said it took her more than an hour to reach Rajiv Chowk from Dwarka. "It usually takes 45 minutes. But I took double the time today. It was very bad. The trains was crowded," she said.