Thousands of Delhi Metro commuters were in for a rough ride on Thursday morning when services on the busy Blue Line came to a standstill, due to the theft of 150 metres of signalling cable between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar stations. For nearly six hours, the Blue Line, an arterial route that connects Dwarka to Vaishali and Noida City Centre, witnessed frustration, delays, and overcrowded platforms, throwing off schedules for office-goers and daily passengers alike.
As commuters scrambled to adjust, the theft sparked a wave of reactions, including a sharp critique from former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who questioned the city’s safety under the Union Home Ministry’s watch. “Nothing is safe in the national capital. Amit Shah ji, what is happening in Delhi? The cable of the Delhi Metro has been stolen. Nothing is safe,” he said.
At 8 am, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) informed commuters about the incident and later updated that normal services had resumed from 1.38 pm. The line services key areas such as Rajiv Chowk, Yamuna Bank, Mayur Vihar Phase 1, Noida Sector 16, and Noida Sector 18, where many offices are located. With the delay coinciding with morning office hours, passengers faced inconvenience, particularly those commuting to work in areas served by the Blue Line.
In a statement, the Delhi Metro said that 20 maintenance personnel restored the vital section of the Blue Line in a record time of 30 minutes. “A specialised team of 20 personnel was formed and deployed at the affected area at 1 pm to carry out the repair work. A total of 140 metres of cable had been damaged, and these personnel executed the restoration work in a record time of just over 30 minutes. Eventually, normal services were restored on the Blue Line at 1.38 pm,” DMRC’s Principal Executive Director Anuj Dayal said.
Initially, a decision had been made to carry out the repair work at night after the end of passenger services. However, considering the convenience of passengers, particularly during the evening peak hours, a quick decision was taken to attempt the restoration during the afternoon non-peak hours, Dayal said.
While the repair work was being carried out on the up line (towards Dwarka), train services continued on the down line, ensuring both directions of travel were operational, he explained.
Earlier, the DMRC had stated that train services on the Blue Line were regulated from the morning due to what appeared to be a case of theft and damage to the signalling cables by miscreants between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar stations.
With speed restrictions in place, passengers faced longer waiting times, resulting in overcrowding at stations and on trains. On a working day, these aggravated further problems for the commuters, with many complaining about missed appointments and extended travel times.
A daily commuter, Sarita Singh said the delay due to cable theft is extremely inconvenient. “The trains were running late, and the platforms were packed. The authorities need to improve security,” she said. Others also raised concerns over safety, questioning the Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) over lapses. “Someone stole cable from the Delhi Metro’s busiest line, the blue line. This caused delays on blue line metro trains today. What’s this CISF, how can such things happen inside Delhi Metro premises?” another office goer added.
In a video message, Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that the cable on the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro, from Kirti Nagar to Moti Nagar, has been stolen. He expressed his shock that, “This is Delhi, the Capital of the country. The central government and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are responsible for its security, and yet, a Metro cable was stolen.”
Bharadwaj further emphasised that this cable theft is just one example saying “in Delhi, vehicles are being stolen daily. Tyres from cars are being taken, mobile phones are being snatched, chains are being snatched, and even robberies at banks are happening. Water pumps from people’s homes are being stolen. Government installed motors and their wires are being taken as well.”
Meanwhile, according to the police, at around 6 am, the DMRC’s signalling controller informed them that about 150 metre of Transmission Cable (TC) along the railway track between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar was stolen. “Due to this damage, in the morning hours the speed of metro trains was reduced to 25-30 kmph, from normal speed of 70 kmph between the two stations. The normal metro train services were restored at 1:38 PM after repair,” a senior officer said, adding that a case under section 303(2) and 329 (3) of BNS has been registered and an investigation is ongoing.