Snag hits Metro’s Dwarka line again, thousands stranded

Travelling on Delhi Metro’s Blueline, which connects Dwarka with Noida and Vaishali, became a nightmare for passengers yet again on Monday evening.

Travelling on Delhi Metro’s Blueline, which connects Dwarka with Noida and Vaishali, became a nightmare for passengers yet again on Monday evening.

Due to the breakdown of an overhead wire between Subhash Nagar and Tilak Nagar Metro stations, operations on the entire 51-km-long route remained affected for two-and-half hours. (Ravi Choudhary/HT Photo)

Due to the breakdown of an overhead wire between Subhash Nagar and Tilak Nagar Metro stations, operations on the entire 51-km-long route remained affected for two-and-half hours.

According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials, the snag led to bunching of trains which in turn led people to spend double the usual time travelling on the same route. The snag was reported at 4.35pm and got rectified at about 7.05pm.

“The trains were running on a single line between Subhash Nagar and Tilak Nagar station. But operations were normal beyond that. However, there were delays and trains were stopping before entering every station due to bunching,” said a DMRC official.

Passengers complained of long waiting hours and overcrowding. Even those, who managed to sneak in, got stuck due to slow speed of the Metro. “I managed to board the train at Barakhamba but after 30 minutes I could only reach Indraprastha. I got down there and took an auto to go to Anand Vihar,” said Sagar, a daily commuter.

The DMRC official said that the Blueline is more vulnerable to snag as it is the longest and most exposed line of the Metro network.

The Delhi Metro had estimated that ridership of the line would reach 9.18 lakh per day but in August 2015, it was 11.94 lakh per day already. This is one lakh more than the Yellow Line. The Blueline carries over 30% of the Metro passengers and since most part is elevated, the vulnerability to snag is higher.

Passengers complained of long waiting hours caused by overcrowding. (Ravi Choudhary/HT Photo)

“It is the longest route and most of it is exposed to nature. The problem in overhead wires happens because of change in atmosphere and because of heat and frequent thunderstorms. This line is the most vulnerable. The track circuit problem occurs because of variation in temperature,” said a DMRC official, requesting anonymity.

“The wires are in the open and even when a kite or bird gets stuck, the operation gets affected. Also the growth in passenger traffic is more than expected due to which at many stations the waiting time is more than what it should be. Since, majority of the interchange stations are on this line, passengers travelling in Delhi Metro network have to come to this line. All things combined have led to frequent snags,” said another Delhi Metro official on condition of anonymity.

This line has 44 stations from Dwarka Sector 21 to Noida City Centre with a length of 51.35 km and a branch line consisting of seven stations from Yamuna Bank to Vaishali, with a length of 8.85 km.