Yet another technical snag hit the Metro services on the crowded Noida City Centre-Vaishali-Dwarka line on Friday, leaving thousands of commuters stranded. Commuters faced a harrowing time for around two hours as the fault occurred at a point between Karol Bagh and RK Ashram.
Due to a fault in the overhead electrification system (OHE), the train services came to a sudden halt. large crowds continued to gather at the platforms as covering a half-an-hour journey took two hours. Trains stopped for 10-15 minutes at each station.
Normalcy was restored at 1 pm, when the train coming from Dwarka terminated at Noida City Centre. Intermittent services affected the schedule of the trains from 11.40 am to 12.50 pm. According to a commuter, trains suddenly came to a halt at 11.40 am. Thousands of passengers in the following trains were stuck inside. Many trains were stopped between two stations.
The power system of the trains going to Dwarka from Rajiv Chowk snapped between RK Ashram Marg and Karol Bagh. Trains at RK Ashram Marg and Karol Bagh were evacuated and repair work started. Services were then restored in three short loops - one between Karol Bagh and Dwarka, another between Barakhamba and Vaishali, and the third between Barakhamba and Noida City Centre.
"There was no train operation between Barakhamba and Karol Bagh for about half-an-hour. During this, every alternate train coming towards Rajiv Chowk was evacuated at Barakhamba and reversed. The process was carried out at Karol Bagh where every alternate train was reversed to Dwarka," said Neha Tandon, a commuter.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) had to even restrict commuters from entering Rajiv Chowk Metro Station around noon as things started going out of control.