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Metro services disrupted for hours
With beginning of the New Year and the first working day, lakhs of Metro commuters witnessed severe disruptions in services of Delhi Metro.
The disruptions extended for over 24 hours. Train services on the busiest Line-3 between Vaishali and Dwarka-21 were affected on Sunday evening due to snapping of overhead electric wire, and remained affected on the second consecutive day on Monday.
The maintenance work from Anand Vihar to Vaishali stretch led to major delays that stretched up to over 30 minutes. The frequency of trains had to be made 20 minutes, leading to huge pile-up of trains on the stretch affecting their movement. Platforms were over-crowded, adding to the woes of the passengers. Even the halting time of trains on stations was increased to over 15 minutes. The problem persisted throughout the day and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) issued an advisory saying that no service will be available on the Vaishali and Kaushambi stations owing to planned maintenance work post 10 pm.
Commuters on the Blueline Corridor continued to face hardships for the second consecutive day due to maintenance of Over-Head Electrification (OHE) on the Vaishali line. There were instances of commuters being left in a tizzy for over half-an-hour at Vaishali station. Saurabh Singh, a troubled commuter, said, “I kept waiting for a train to arrive from 1.00-1.30 pm, but in vain. Though a train arrived after 45 minutes, it was packed to capacity. I am appalled at the poor decision of the Corporation in running four-coach trains on the route, compounding the problem of overcrowding.”
The public address system on the stations was not functioning, leaving passengers in the lurch. They complained that the same announcement was being made after regular intervals. Women commuters faced the maximum brunt as male commuters fully occupied the reserved ladies’ coaches of the trains.
Others complained of foul smell and unkept trains. Swelling crowd was apparent at Vaishali and Kaushambi stations in the absence of train services. Neha Tandon, another distressed commuter, said, “As there was no train available even after waiting for over half an hour, I had no option but to come down to Anand Vihar station to board a train. Though the train arrived, it was packed and had a pungent foul smell. However, this did not deter passengers who were already late; the stench coupled with overcrowding exaggerated our troubles.”
There was complete absence of crowd-management mechanism on the stations and almost caused a stampede-like situation. Passengers could be seen pushing each other in a bid to get into the trains.
The disruption caused on Monday was the ripple effect of the Sunday’s fiasco when an overhead cable snapped near Indraprastha station, leading to major disruption on the same corridor. Though the problem persisted on the three stations of the Blueline, it affected hundreds of regular office goers and commuters from Ghaziabad to Delhi. The spokesperson said, “Train services from Anand Vihar to Dwarka Sec-21 were normal. The delays came a day after services on the Dwarka-Noida Line were delayed on Sunday night due to a problem in the OHE, which transmits electrical energy to trains.”
Increasing commuter fury and anger compelled the Corporation to provide free feeder bus service between Anand Vihar and Vaishali stations. A DMRC spokesperson said, “Owing to Over Head Electrification maintenance works between Annad Vihar to Vaishali section, Metro train services are available at a frequency of 10 minutes on this section i.e, at Kaushambi and Vaishali Metro stations till maintenance work gets over. Feeder Bus Services are also being provided to commuters between Anand Vihar and Vaishali Metro Stations for their convenience. Metro train services on rest of this line are, however, running as per the normal schedule.”
With beginning of the New Year and the first working day, lakhs of Metro commuters witnessed severe disruptions in services of Delhi Metro.
The disruptions extended for over 24 hours. Train services on the busiest Line-3 between Vaishali and Dwarka-21 were affected on Sunday evening due to snapping of overhead electric wire, and remained affected on the second consecutive day on Monday.
The maintenance work from Anand Vihar to Vaishali stretch led to major delays that stretched up to over 30 minutes. The frequency of trains had to be made 20 minutes, leading to huge pile-up of trains on the stretch affecting their movement. Platforms were over-crowded, adding to the woes of the passengers. Even the halting time of trains on stations was increased to over 15 minutes. The problem persisted throughout the day and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) issued an advisory saying that no service will be available on the Vaishali and Kaushambi stations owing to planned maintenance work post 10 pm.
Commuters on the Blueline Corridor continued to face hardships for the second consecutive day due to maintenance of Over-Head Electrification (OHE) on the Vaishali line. There were instances of commuters being left in a tizzy for over half-an-hour at Vaishali station. Saurabh Singh, a troubled commuter, said, “I kept waiting for a train to arrive from 1.00-1.30 pm, but in vain. Though a train arrived after 45 minutes, it was packed to capacity. I am appalled at the poor decision of the Corporation in running four-coach trains on the route, compounding the problem of overcrowding.”
The public address system on the stations was not functioning, leaving passengers in the lurch. They complained that the same announcement was being made after regular intervals. Women commuters faced the maximum brunt as male commuters fully occupied the reserved ladies’ coaches of the trains.
Others complained of foul smell and unkept trains. Swelling crowd was apparent at Vaishali and Kaushambi stations in the absence of train services. Neha Tandon, another distressed commuter, said, “As there was no train available even after waiting for over half an hour, I had no option but to come down to Anand Vihar station to board a train. Though the train arrived, it was packed and had a pungent foul smell. However, this did not deter passengers who were already late; the stench coupled with overcrowding exaggerated our troubles.”
There was complete absence of crowd-management mechanism on the stations and almost caused a stampede-like situation. Passengers could be seen pushing each other in a bid to get into the trains.
The disruption caused on Monday was the ripple effect of the Sunday’s fiasco when an overhead cable snapped near Indraprastha station, leading to major disruption on the same corridor. Though the problem persisted on the three stations of the Blueline, it affected hundreds of regular office goers and commuters from Ghaziabad to Delhi. The spokesperson said, “Train services from Anand Vihar to Dwarka Sec-21 were normal. The delays came a day after services on the Dwarka-Noida Line were delayed on Sunday night due to a problem in the OHE, which transmits electrical energy to trains.”
Increasing commuter fury and anger compelled the Corporation to provide free feeder bus service between Anand Vihar and Vaishali stations. A DMRC spokesperson said, “Owing to Over Head Electrification maintenance works between Annad Vihar to Vaishali section, Metro train services are available at a frequency of 10 minutes on this section i.e, at Kaushambi and Vaishali Metro stations till maintenance work gets over. Feeder Bus Services are also being provided to commuters between Anand Vihar and Vaishali Metro Stations for their convenience. Metro train services on rest of this line are, however, running as per the normal schedule.”
