Snags ail Blue Line, DMRC says sorry

Metro attributes delays to safety mechanism that is in place to ensure that passengers remain safe in case of a glitch

Technical snags hit Delhi Metro’s Blue Line on Thursday, making it the second consecutive day and the third time in the last 10 days when commuters were left stranded.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), meanwhile, apologised to commuters for the regular disruptions on the Blue Line, which has become infamous for delays.

A glitch in the signalling system led to disruption in operations on the Dwarka to Vaishali and Noida corridor. Train operations are centrally managed from DMRC’s Operation Control Centre (OCC), which witnessed a blackout due to a power failure around 11.30 a.m. on Thursday. With its screens going blank, operations had to be managed manually at the station level, which led to delays and bunching of trains.

Passengers see red

With all trains from Noida and Vaishali till Rajiv Chowk running late, officials made constant announcements about the delay. “I am getting tired of this. I had to wait 15 minutes at the Vaishali metro station and then it took me another 25 minutes to reach Anand Vihar. This is becoming a regular schedule of the DMRC,” said Nandita Saxena, a resident of Vaishali.

Weekday woes

Thursday being a weekday added to the woes of those travelling to work. “They should ensure that they run this system right. They know that most Delhi commuters depend on them. This is a weekday, it is going to be a huge loss for everyone,” said Radhika Ram Manohar, a resident of Ghaziabad.

While many people chose to wait, some decided to book a cab. Thanks to the delayed trains, cab fares saw a surge, which added to commuters’ problems. I usually spend ₹60 on a cab, but today I will have to spend extra to reach office. The delay has led to shortage of cabs. I will miss an important meeting,” said Harinder Kumar, a daily commuter from Indirapuram.

Apologising to commuters, DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said that the delays were a result of the safety mechanism that is in place to ensure that passengers remain unharmed.

‘No comprise on safety’

“We have a signalling-based system where safety is ensured,” Mr. Dayal said. He said that the OCC stopped receiving signals on Thursday morning due to which ‘train IDs’ were not available. This made it difficult to identify their location. Trains were then driven at a cautionary speed, leading to delays on the 57-km-long corridor.

“We divided the corridor into 17 sections, which are interlocking stations where reversal of trains is possible. Local control was allowed at these 17 stations. When a train arrived at these stations, the ID was exchanged with the local station control, which then authorised it to go ahead,” he said.

“Trains were delayed, but we don’t want to compromise on safety,” he said.