NEW DELHI: Two maintenance teams comprising 16 technicians were dispatched to fix an overhead wire once the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) identified the glitch on the Yellow Line that brought train services to a halt at peak office hours on Tuesday.“The team comprised of experienced technicians from the traction department supervised by senior officials...The OHE repair work was completed followed by its charging and subsequent removal of stranded trains from the section around 1:15 PM and after about 15 minutes, the normal train services were restored on both the Up and Down Lines of entire Yellow Line,” the DMRC stated.
A crucial part of the coordinated operation involved the evacuation of over 5,000 passengers caught in two trains that halted on the tracks between Chhatarpur and Qutub Minar stations. The DMRC began the evacuation about 15 minutes after the operation was disrupted at 9.45 am. Nearly a dozen passengers required special assistance, including the service of a wheelchair.
“We rushed the maintenance staff to rectify the issues. Our main priority is the convenience of the passengers. We started updating through our Twitter account and also spoke to all FM stations in the city to keep our commuters updated,” a DMRC official told The Morning Standard. “At 11:10 AM, all passengers (around 2600) from Train-1 were safely taken towards Qutab Minar station and at 11:27 AM, all passengers (around 3000) from Train-2 were safely taken towards Chhattarpur Metro station,” the DMRC said in a statement.
Loop services between Samaypur Badli and Qutab Minar operated at a frequency of around two minutes to provide service on remaining sections of the Yellow Line. Also, Sultanpur and HUDA City Centre saw trains at a frequency of about six minutes. Twenty-nine feeder buses bridged the gap and provided connectivity to the commuters between the Qutab Minar–Sultanpur section.
The CISF’s Quick Response Team and the Delhi Metro Rail Police worked in tandem with the DMRC staff to manage the passenger rush at the metro stations. From providing drinking water to centralised announcements, the DMRC devised all possible measures to reach out to the hassled passengers. “Drinking water was provided at stations during this period. Centralised announcements were regularly being done from the Centralised Operations Control Room at the stations,” it stated.
Timeline
09:45: Due to tripping of power supply, Train-1 between Qutab Minar & Chattarpur and, Train-2 between Chattarpur & Sultanpur went immobile.
10.50: 29 buses were introduced for commuters between the Qutab Minar – Sultanpur affected section.
11:10: All passengers (around 2600) from Train-1 were safely taken towards Qutab Minar station
11:27: All passengers (around 3000) from Train-2 were taken towards Chhattarpur Metro station
11:50: Single line train services started between Qutab Minar & Sultanpur, the services were partially resumed on the affected section.
13:15: OHE repair work was completed followed by its charging and subsequent removal of stranded trains from the section.
13:28: Normal Metro train services were restored on Up and Down lines of the Yellow Line in the afternoon