Eagle-hit Blue Line held up for hours, passengers sweat it out

On Tuesday afternoon, the Delhi Metro's Blue Line was hit by a severe snag leaving commuters stranded at various stations for long hours.

Thousands of commuters were trapped for nearly three hours as the services were disrupted on the Blue Line (Dwarka 21- Noida City Center/ Vaishali) following an electrical short circuit near Indraprastha Station en route.

According to the DMRC official, "An eagle has lead to the short circuit of insulator resulting into sagging of catenaries wires which led to the disturbance of the functioning."

Due to electrical short-circuiting caused by an eagle that flew into overhead high-tension wires, an insulator of the Overhead Equipment (OHE) broke, causing the OHE to come in contact with passing trains, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a statement.

While the snag was reported at 4.55 pm between Indraprastha and Yamuna Bank Metro stations, normal services were restored only at 7.43 pm.

In the meantime, thousands of commuters had to wait for the service to resume for their onward journey on the route.

Several commuters took alternate routes to reach their destination on time. "I waited for at Dwarka station for 40 minutes. Then I took the Airport Line which is still a fair bet to reach ITO," said Radhika Das, a commuter.

"The train halted for a minimum of 10 minutes at every station. At Yamuna Bank, it stood still for around 20 minutes. The air conditioner and lights frequently went off adding to our woes," said a student, Anjali Ahuja. Busy stations like Rajiv Chowk, and Mandi House were choc-a-bloc with people trying to board a metro. Entry and exit points were not shut to control the swelling crowds. "The fare has recently been increased and yet we face this. The officials should look into such matter and find emergency alternatives," said another commuter.