Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bangaluru, Jan 3: Trains were delayed, chaos reigned supreme in stations, and people turned panicky,  as power supply to the underground section of 'Purple Line' of Namma Metro got severed all of a sudden on Tuesday January 2. The fact that this happened during the peak hours at around 10.20 am complicated the problems further.

When power supply stopped, some of the trains stopped at the station while some others were stranded in the tunnel. Passengers could not use their cellphones to inform the concerned about the cause for their delayed arrival as mobile net works did not function in the tunnel and underground section.

A  train came to a halt at Cubbon Park station in the heart of the city. Air-conditioning system stopped functioning, doors did not open, and passengers felt suffocation. After the staff at the station advised commuters to press emergency buttons, the passengers did so and the doors opened. The people reached their offices about twenty minutes behind schedule as trains got stranded for over ten minutes. A train also had got stuck in Kempegowda station and the tunnel before Central college.

The staff of the metro found it hard to handle passenger pressure as the trains did not move and the employees were found asking for explanations. The people were restless as they did not get proper information about what was happening. Many wanted to know the systems in place to handle emergencies.

It is learnt that a woman passenger fainted after coming out of the train at Central college station. She, however, regained consciousness after a while.

Similar problems repeated during the day including the evening peak time.  Public relations officer of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation, U S Vasanth Rao, explained that power problems contributed to delayed running of metro trains. The situation was handled by running short loop trips, he added.

A passenger said that the website of metro says that people can contact station control room but there was no response even after repeatedly trying to contact them. Some also demanded refund of fares.

One of the officials felt that the line tripped because of excess load as ten additional trips were run on Purple Line during peaks hours on Tuesday.