CHENNAI: Metro services at the airport station came to a grinding halt for hours on Wednesday evening after a technical fault halted all train services on both the green and blue lines, throwing the city’s peak-hour commute out of gear. The fault, which occurred around 5pm, was rectified on the Blue Line after two hours, but the green line was still down at 10pm.
The blue line connects Wimco Nagar to the airport via Alandur and Meenambakkam. While operations continued between Wimco Nagar Depot and Meenambakkam, the critical airport terminal remained inaccessible, and full services on this line only resumed after 7pm.
Green line services, which typically run from Chennai Central to the airport via Koyambedu, were suspended beyond Alandur. As commuters had to switch trains at Alandur, it resulted in severe congestion and prolonged delays at the interchange. Many passengers disembarked at Meenambakkam in search of taxis and auto-rickshaws to reach the airport, while others waited anxiously at the airport metro station.
“There was no clear announcement. We kept waiting without knowing why trains were not coming,” said Rajesh, a commuter who had been stuck at the station for over an hour. The disruption also spilled on to the Green Line, as commuters from airport headed towards Koyambedu, Vadapalani, and Anna Nagar also boarded the blue line trains and disembarked at Alandur.
At Chennai Central, one of the network’s busiest nodes, frustrated commuters jostled to board overcrowded trains. “There was a huge rush with people pushing to get in,” said a passenger, describing the scene during the breakdown.
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) acknowledged the technical fault and issued an apology, advising passengers to plan for extended travel times.