Snag hits Metro again, trains delayed

Delhiites travelling on the metro had a tough time on Saturday morning when electrical failure of a train disrupted services for more than two hours, reports HT Correspondent.

Delhiites travelling on the metro had a tough time on Saturday morning when electrical failure of a train disrupted services for more than two hours.

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And once again, it was Line 3, the Dwarka — Noida section. There have been several incidents of delays and technical failures on this line recently.

The incident happened during the peak morning hours leading to crowding at several metro stations.

Despite being a Saturday, which is relatively a lean day for the metro, there was huge rush because of the trade fair.

According to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials, a train suddenly stopped when both its pantographs (which draw power from the overhead electrification line) suddenly got lowered.

DMRC officials said the incident happened at 9.18 am when the train, going towards Dwarka, was entering Uttam Nagar East station.

Since the train could not draw electricity, another train had to be pressed into service to tow away the affected train.

There were 250 passengers travelling in the affected train who had to be de-boarded.

Rejecting suggestions that there was some problem in Line 3, which gets affected every couple of days, DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said Saturday's incident happened because of electrical problem, which could have happened anywhere.

“Our team is trying to investigate the reason for the snag. Such problems have occurred on Line 1 (Dilshad garden - Rithala) before,” Dayal said.

He said some foreign object may have got entangled in the overhead electrification line leading to interface problems.

While normalcy on the section could only be restored at 11.37 am, a DMRC official said they had to run trains on single track between Janakpuri West and Dwarka Metro stations leading to delays. Six rounds of trips were cancelled, and a few trains performed short loop services.

“I missed my Mumbai train due to the metro delay,” said Naresh Sharma, a resident of Tilak Nagar who was to travel in Sampurna Kranti Express.

Commuters also complained that the metro officials were not giving any information.