Smoke on tracks, Metro services hit for 2 hrs

Kolkata: Kolkata Metro Railway services were partially disrupted after a motorman of a Dum Dum-bound train detected smoke on the tracks near Rabindra Sadan Metro Station on Monday.

According to eyewitnesses at Rabindra Sadan Metro Station, sparks were noticed in the tunnel when the Dum Dum-bound train had just entered the station. Within a few minutes, the station was filled with smoke. Keeping safety concerns in mind, trains plying on the Chandni Chowk-Tollygunge stretch were stopped. Commuters faced problems because after the incident took

place, trains were temporarily run in two loops — between Central to Dumdum and Noapara (both UP and DN) and Mahanayak Uttam Kumar to Kavi Subhash (both UP and DN).

"At 12: 10 pm, I boarded a train from Jatin Das Park Metro Station. After crossing the Netaji Bhavan Metro Station, when the train entered the tunnel, we noticed smoke emanating from the tracks. At 12: 30 pm, when the train reached Rabindra Sadan Metro Station, all the passengers were asked to get down the train. The passengers, who were present at the station, were asked to vacate the station," said Dina Bandhu Ghosh, a passenger of the Dum Dum-bound train.

State Fire and Emergency Services Department officials and Kolkata Metro Railway Technical officials went inside the tunnel to inspect the source of smoke.

"To find out if there was any technical snag or short circuit, we went inside the tunnel. At first, we didn't find anything. However, when we were returning after the inspection, we saw a spark again," said a fire official.

"There was a disruption in services in the UP line at 12:30 pm. We are now operating truncated services from Central to Dumdum and Noapara both UP and DN and Mahanayak Uttam Kumar to Kavi Subhash both UP and DN," said an official of the Kolkata

Metro Railway. Nearly two hours later, end-to-end services (Kavi Subhash Metro Station to Noapara Metro Station) were restored.

"I have been waiting for the train to resume for a long time. I wanted to go to Tollygunge," said Mithu, a regular metro commuter.

"I have been waiting for half-an-hour. I came from Tollygunge in the bus and I will get down at Central Metro Station," said Nitish Ray, another passenger.

To keep people informed about the status of the disruption, Kolkata Metro Railway disseminated regular updates through Facebook posts. "Normal services resumed in the entire Metro alignment from 2:36 pm," said the fire official.