BENGALURU: Thousands of Namma Metro commuters were left stranded during Tuesday evening’s peak hours after a train developed a technical fault at Cubbon Park Metro Station on the Purple Line, disrupting services across the underground corridor and causing major inconvenience to passengers.
A commuter stranded in the station told TNIE that the train reached Cubbon Park station at around 6.30 pm but remained stationary with its doors closed for nearly 15 minutes. He also alleged that the passengers were left without any information regarding the disruption for a long time, leading to panic and discomfort.
"The train was jam-packed and it became suffocating inside. We were not informed about the issue immediately and had to wait for nearly 40 minutes before any announcement or update was made," said the commuter.
Passengers claimed that the technical problem was related to the train drawing power to continue operations. The incident occurred during peak hour when train frequencies on the Purple Line are typically three to four minutes apart and coaches are usually overcrowded.
The disruption had a cascading effect on services across all underground stations on the Purple Line, with passengers stranded at multiple stations. Following announcements regarding the disruption, commuters were asked to evacuate stations and entry gates were subsequently closed, leading to crowding outside stations and traffic congestion in surrounding areas.
In a statement, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said a technical fault was detected in a train at Cubbon Park Metro Station and that its Operations and Maintenance teams were working on a priority basis to rectify the issue.
Following the disruption, train services were short-looped between Magadi Road and Challaghatta, and between MG Road and Whitefield (Kadugodi). From 8 pm onwards, services were further restricted to operate only between Indiranagar and Whitefield (Kadugodi), and Magadi Road and Challaghatta.
BMRCL said efforts were underway to restore normal services at the earliest and regretted the inconvenience caused to commuters.
