Metro commuters faced Harrowing time on Friday

Though train services did not stop completely due to the technical fault,trains on the line stopped at almost every onward station for more than the stipulated time,causing much inconvenience to people who were hoping to reach their offices on time.

Delhi Metro trains run on automatic signalling system and if any problem occurs in it,they are run on a manual signalling system,whose speed is restricted to 25 km per hour.

The problem in the signalling system was detected at around 9 AM after a train identification number was lost following which all trains came to an halt. After that they were run on manual signalling mode.

“Once the train identification number was lost,then trains were run on manual signalling till 11.48 AM. From 09.09 AM to 11.48 AM,trains were run at a restricted speed of 25 km per hour,” a DMRC spokesman said.

The problem resulted in bunching of trains on the line which caused the delay.

Passengers alleged that the trains were running late till late afternoon.

Delays due to signalling problems have become common on the Line 3 that carries over 6 lakh people everyday. The DMRC says such snags are inevitable due to the long distance of the line.

According to passengers,they had to wait for trains at some stations for more than 40 minutes and even after the train came,it stopped at almost every station for more than 10 minutes. They also complained of over-crowding on trains due to the delay.

Divya,a software professional,said she had to wait for a train for almost 30 minutes at the Mayur Vihar station.

“After that a train which was almost jam-packed arrived and it was at the station for another 20 minutes. Then it stopped at every station for more than the usual time. Trains were running very slow and it was a very bad experience,” she said.

Passengers claimed some stations like Anand Vihar,which sees very large footfall,were closed for sometime due to over-crowding.

Abhinav,a journalist,who takes a Metro from Mayur Vihar said it took him almost an hour to reach Patel Chowk station due to the problem.

“I boarded the train at around 9.15 AM hoping to reach office before 10 AM. But the train was standing at the station for 10 minutes and it stopped at every station for at least 5 minutes. Moreover,the train was also running at a very slow speed. It took me more than an hour to reach my office,” he said.

Beautician Preeti said she parked her car at her home to reach her client’s office early,but was in for a rude shock when she travelled on the Metro.

“I thought I will get stuck in traffic if I take my car.

But when I got into the train it was very slow and it was stopping everywhere,” she said.

“As a result,I got delayed to the appointment by 1 hour,” she said.

Line 3 is the most overcrowded line of the Metro network in the capital.

Passengers on other lines also complained of delays,but Metro officials said they were not aware of them.