Metro slows down in peak hours

Train movement on Blue Line hit due to maintenance work

Delhi Metro commuters had a tough time on Thursday morning as train movement on the Blue Line slowed down during peak rush hour due to maintenance work. The busy line connects Noida and Vaishali to Dwarka. Commuters — who were traveling between 8 am and 11am — complained that the trains, which normally take two minutes to go from one station to another, took up to 10 minutes on Thursday. Metro officials

◗ ‘Stranded trains on the Blue Line have become a regular sight. There was utter chaos today,’ said a daily commuter.

said that the delay was due to maintenance work near Pragati Maidan station.

“Stranded Metros on the Blue Line have become a regular sight. There was commotion in the trains and Metro stations today,” said Rajesh Kumar, a daily commuter at Pragati Maidan Metro station.

DMRC officials, however, said that it was a minor delay caused due to track maintenance that was being carried out in front of a Metro station on the Blue Line.

“The DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) was carrying out track maintenance work in front of the Pragati Maidan Metro station. The work lasted for 10 minutes and is now over,” said a DMRC official.

However, commuters said that there was a delay of more than half-an-hour in reaching their destinations. “I have been waiting here for the last 30 minutes to board the Metro, but the service has been affected due to some technical snag. We are not sure when it will be back to normal. I have to reach Kashmiri Gate Metro station, but I don’t know when that will be possible,” said Mohan Singh, a daily commuter at Laxmi Nagar Metro station.

In 2016, eight incidents of major technical failures took place, whereas in 2015, five major technical snags were reported in the Delhi Metro network.