BENGALURU: Metro commuters who had planned a relaxed Sunday morning ride on the Purple Line suffered a rude jolt when they reached their stations only to learn that trains were not running. Without any advance information, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) did not operate trains for 81 minutes between 7 am and 8.21 am as maintenance works overshot the planned schedule.
The 6.7 km stretch, along which trains did not run, covers six stations — Baiyappanahalli, Swami Vivekananda Road, Indiranagar, Halasuru, Trinity and MG Road stations. Those trying to reach these stations from other places too were affected. But thanks to it being a Sunday, a much lesser number of commuters were hit.
This is the first stretch of the Metro in the city which was flagged off on October 20, 2011, and has been shut down a few times in the past for maintenance work.
The first communication from BMRCL on the issue was put out as a tweet by Chief Public Relations Officer B L Yashvanth Chavan at 7.13 am.
“The start of train services on Purple Line between MG Road to Baiyappanahalli will be delayed due to maintenance work being carried out between Trinity and Halasuru stations. Train services between Mysore Road and MG Road is available. Inconvenience caused is regretted,” the tweet said.
The BMRCL may have miscalculated the time for its maintenance work. According to BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth, “The maintenance activity, including restoration of track and testing, was expected to be taken up from 12.30 am (close of Metro service) and completed by 7 am (normal start time for Metro service on Sunday). However, the maintenance activity took longer and we could commence the service only at 8.21 am,” he said.
BMRCL Union vice president Narayana Murthy said it will demand strong action against officials responsible for the disruption of services. “The work was well planned by the management. It has not been informed to public,” he said, adding that action should be taken against them for non-performance of duty.