Technical glitch hits token issuance system of all three Metro lines for about 3 hours

Kolkata: The token issuance system of all three Metro lines — Blue, Green and Purple — was affected for nearly three hours on Monday morning. Metro Railway had to issue printed card tickets for the passengers during the affected period.

Due to technical problems, tokens could not be issued from the counters and accepted at the AFC-PC gates of all the stations of the three Metro lines, including Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash, Joka to Taratala and Sealdah to Salt Lake Sector-V. The problem started since the first service. Metro Railway and Centre for Railway Information Systems officials rectified it and tokens could be issued from 10:42 am, according to Metro Railway officials.

In the meantime, passengers having Smart Cards, Mobile QR Code Tickets, and Paper-Based QR Code Tickets could travel in the Metro. Meanwhile, another suicide attempt at Belgachia Metro Station was foiled by RPF staff and Operating Staff on Monday. At around 4:53 pm, a woman aged around 45 years tried to jump on the Down tracks at the Kavi Subhash-end of Belgachia Metro Station while a train approached.

The motorman of the approaching train applied the emergency brake while the personnel stopped her from jumping. She was taken to the Station Manager’s office. When questioned, she stated that she had attempted suicide due to family problems. Station staff informed Ultadanga Police Station and she was handed over to the police after observing all official formalities at 5:54 pm. Metro services were not disrupted.

On December 27, an RPF staff and Operation staff had foiled a suicide attempt by a 73-year-old man at Belgachia Metro Station. According to official, the man was attempting suicide due to family problems. According to the data provided by Metro Railway on World Suicide Prevention Day, nine suicide attempts were made in Metro last year, out of which seven attempts were foiled.

Since its inception, 361 suicide attempts have been made so far, of which Metro staff foiled 187 attempts. In 2022, six suicide attempts were made of which two attempts were foiled.