A technical glitch disrupted services on Delhi Metro’s Yellow Line for at least four hours on Tuesday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded on the road and traffic snarls all the way from Gurgaon to New Delhi.
Trains on the line that connects Huda City Centre in Gurgaon to Samaypur Badli in the city, running a distance of 49 km, stalled at 9.32 am and normal services were not resumed till after 1.30 pm.
Services were hit due to a breakdown of the overhead wire (OHE) at Sultanpur station, midway between Gurgaon and Delhi, leading to power supply tripping in the section, DMRC officials said.
Thousands of commuters were on Tuesday left stranded inside the Delhi Metro stations and outside on road, when services were disrupted on Yellow Line for several hours during peak time. Moreover, traffic snarls were also seen all the way from Gurugram to Delhi as commuters were moved out from the stations haphazardly, while Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials rushed to fix the technical glitch that led to the crisis.
Scores of metro commuters were seen outside the Metro stations on the roads waiting for some other mode of transport while battling the scorching sun. Services on Yellow Line that connects the Huda City Centre in Gurgaon to Samaypur Badli in Delhi were disprupted at 9.32 am and normal services were restored at around 3 pm.
However, DMRC'S Twitter handle update said, “Train movement was partially normalised between Qutub Minar and Chhattarpur. Single line operational at the moment. We will keep you updated." Around 1:30 pm, the authorities issued another tweet and said, "On the other line, the stranded train is being removed. Services will be completely normalised shortly."
Services were hit due to a breakdown of the overhead wire (OHE) at Sultanpur station, midway between Gurugram and Delhi, leading to power supply tripping in the section, DMRC officials said. "Due to a technical snag at a station, train services were affected on the Yellow Line," official added.
“The DMRC was able to evacuate more than 5,000 passengers in mid section safely without any injury to any passengers and arranged buses at short notice for the commuters while starting restoration operation simultaneously which was extremely challenging. Disturbances in suburban metro operation are extremely tricky in urban transportation with high frequency of train services,” said Anuj Dayal, Executive Director, DMRC.
Trains were initially run between Huda City Centre and Sultanpur and between Samaypur Badli and Qutub Minar temporarily, he said. There was no train movement between Sultanpur and Qutub Minar in the morning rush hours, he added.
Passengers of the two trains which were passing through the section at the time were asked to de-board and services were resumed by running trains in short loops. With the lifeline that connects the national capital to the satellite town of Gurugram severed, there was mayhem on the roads –and on the tracks.
Some people got off the train and had to walk on the track at Qutub Minar station and others were stuck inside coaches, sending out tweets asking for the air-conditioning to be put on. And then, there were those who had no option but to simply walk the distance. There were the old and young, men and women, some with children and others with bags, knocking at car windows and searching for cabs, auto-rickshaws or any vehicle that could give them a lift.
When that did not work, several hundreds just squared their shoulders and walked in the scorching sun on the Mehrauli-gurugram highway. Many did not reach their offices and those that did reported for work late. One woman, who took a lift from a passing car, said she was desperate to get to the AIIMS for an MRI, an appointment she got after many months of waiting.
With the metro out of service, there was surge pricing on radio cabs and autos. Those fortunate enough to be in their cars also faced huge traffic jams that lasted for more than two hours. Due to anger, many commuters took to social media to express their rues, “My wife is stuck since 9 am No feeder bus No Cabs No Auto Crazy scene," a commuter tweeted.
Another commuter complained that many were stuck in trains with no AC. The commuter claimed that some passengers also fainted. DMRC said in a statement that, “29 buses were introduced to bridge this gap and provide connectivity to the commuters between the Qutab Minar Sultanpur affected section. An estimated seven to eight lakh commuters use the Yellow Line each day.
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