Metro Blue Line commuters suffer crowded trains due to snag

Commuters on Delhi Metro's Blue Line had a harrowing time travelling during the peak hours on Wednesday after a snag compelled DMRC to run trains at less frequency, an official said.

"Train service on Line 3 (Dwarka Sector-21 to Vaishali and Noida City Centre) had minor bunching effect from 9 a.m. to noon today due to signalling issue (Track Circuit dropping intermittently) at locations approaching Dwarka (coming from Noida and Vaishali side)," a statement from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said.

"The Track circuit (TC) was made normal at 12:10 p.m.," the statement said adding that the bunching effect was done away with thereafter.

The snag, which occurred at around 9 a.m., coincided with the peak hours when most people use the Delhi Metro to reach their work place. Office-goers faced a tough time commuting when they were met with more massively crowded trains than usual.

The snag occurred on one of the busiest stretches of Delhi Metro, which ferries nine lakh passengers on an average everyday and also is the longest stretch on the entire Metro network in the capital city.

This stretch, which is majorly elevated, is also the most prone to snags and failures, with at least three such incidents happening in the last 15 days leading to severe inconvenience to passengers.

Being exposed to all kinds of vagaries of weather, including heat, cold and rain, owing to its elevated structure, the Blue Line is more vulnerable to technical disruptions.

Although DMRC is coming up with two more Metro lines (Pink and Magenta) which are expected to take some of the load off Blue Line, they are not likely to be commissioned for another 6-8 months.

--IANS

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