Rush-hour panic as metro stuck in tunnel for two hours

Thousands of commuters had a harrowing time during rush hour Tuesday as a snag-hit Metro train got stuck in a tunnel, stalling services on the Gurgaon line for one-and-a-half hours. HT reports.

Thousands of commuters had a harrowing time during rush hour Tuesday as a snag-hit Metro train got stuck in a tunnel, stalling services on the Gurgaon line for one-and-a-half hours.

The eight-coach train with 1,791 people on board was making its way towards Huda City Centre when it came to a dead halt somewhere between Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan at 9.24am. With the lights and air-conditioning fluctuating and no announcements coming, there was soon mass panic.

“Many of us started feeling claustrophobic. Some in the front coach saw the headlights of what later turned out to be the rescue train but thought it would hit us. Amid the chaos and heat, we opened the emergency door and got down on the tracks,” said Jemima Rohekar, a commuter.

After troubleshooting repairs and the rescue train failed, passengers walked 350 metres to Central Secretariat escorted by Metro workers. Services on the Yellow Line resumed at 11am but problems continued till noon due to bunching of trains.

The DMRC said a software-based communication system had malfunctioned. A three-member panel has been constituted to go into the cause of the failure.