Metro Line Glitch on Gurgaon line hits service

Commuters using the Gurgaon Metro line faced delays on Monday morning after train operations on a portion of the line were suspended for 45 minutes to repair a technical snag on the overhead electrification (OHE) line. Even though the shut-off was scheduled and commuters were told about it at stations, commuters were inconvenienced as they had to opt for other modes of transport.

The technical snag affected the section between Sultanpur and Guru Dronacharya Metro stations and there were virtually no trains between the two locations during the affected time. Commuters complained even in the morning, the trains were running slowly and halting at every station for five minutes. At the receiving end were scores of office-goers who have not started depending on the Metro for their daily commute out of Gurgaon.

‘‘I boarded the train around 10am from Sikanderpur station to go to Delhi and as usual it was running slow and halting every now and then. However, I realized something was wrong when our train reached Sultanpur station. Instead of going to Platform 1, the train changed track and got on Platform 2 on which passengers heading towards Gurgaon were waiting. There were no announcements made and everybody in the train was left wondering what had happened,’’ said Arun Kumar, a DLF-3 resident.

According to commuters, the trouble started as early as 8am. ‘‘On Monday morning, the journey which usually takes 40 minutes took more than an hour. I boarded the train around 8am and it kept halting at every station. There were no announcements what the delay was about and when we reached Sultanpur station there was some confusion and the train stopped at platform 3, it usually stops at platform 2,’’ said Sunder Singh, a Karol Bagh resident. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials, meanwhile, said they had taken a block in services from 11.20am to 11.50am to repair the snag in the overhead electrification line.