Life without the Metro
1 Aug 2012 7:50 AM IST
A massive power outage on Tuesday afternoon crippled the Delhi Metro for almost two hours for the second time in two days and forced services to run on low frequency for four-and-half hours, impacting tens of thousands of passengers in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida. Normal services on all six lines resumed at 5.30 pm but witnessed initial chaos.
‘The services on all the six lines became normal by 5.30 pm. We are receiving power from Delhi Transco Ltd on priority basis,’ a Delhi Metro official said.
The Delhi metro halted its services from 1.05-2.50 pm after the Northern Grid collapsed. Partial services were restored from 2.50 pm.
‘We started the partial services at 2.50 pm with 10 minutes frequency and by 5.30 pm the services were normal with a minimum frequency of 2.5 minutes,’ a Delhi Metro official said.
Entry to all the 139 Metro stations in Delhi, Gurgaon in Haryana and Noida in Uttar Pradesh was closed after the grid collapsed, following which the trains were stopped and those in tunnels underground brought to the nearest station.
To ensure the safety of passengers, Delhi Metro staff immediately evacuated all passengers from the trains, including the eight inside the tunnel of Line-2 along with the stations. Passengers fully cooperated with the DMRC staff and within an hour, entire Metro system was declared closed to avoid any inconvenience to the public.
‘There was a huge crowd at the entry gates with long queues on the platoform and people were packed in the coaches. Even after half-an-hour, I could not get into a train,’ said Amrita Mishra, a student from Noida. ‘The trains were jam-packed and there was no space even to stand, the crowd was uncontrollable. The passengers pushed each other, creating a stampede-like situation,’ said a security official at the Central Secretariat Metro station. Centralised announcements were made informing public about the services.
‘There was tremendous rush at each station as soon as partial services were resumed and many were waiting outside the stations especially at Rajiv Chowk, Kashmere Gate and Central Secretariat. The first few trains were packed, and the doors were not closing due to the rush,’ a security official said.
There was chaos after the services resumed partially.
Thousands, who reached the stations, decided to wait and many switched over to buses and autos. Meanwhile, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) said they plied extra buses to meet the rush.
Delhi Metro operates over 2,700 trips a day, covering about 70,000 km and carrying around 1.8 million passengers on week days. Over the years, the Metro has become a cheap, convenient and reliable mode of commuting in the capital.
‘The services on all the six lines became normal by 5.30 pm. We are receiving power from Delhi Transco Ltd on priority basis,’ a Delhi Metro official said.
The Delhi metro halted its services from 1.05-2.50 pm after the Northern Grid collapsed. Partial services were restored from 2.50 pm.
‘We started the partial services at 2.50 pm with 10 minutes frequency and by 5.30 pm the services were normal with a minimum frequency of 2.5 minutes,’ a Delhi Metro official said.
Entry to all the 139 Metro stations in Delhi, Gurgaon in Haryana and Noida in Uttar Pradesh was closed after the grid collapsed, following which the trains were stopped and those in tunnels underground brought to the nearest station.
To ensure the safety of passengers, Delhi Metro staff immediately evacuated all passengers from the trains, including the eight inside the tunnel of Line-2 along with the stations. Passengers fully cooperated with the DMRC staff and within an hour, entire Metro system was declared closed to avoid any inconvenience to the public.
‘There was a huge crowd at the entry gates with long queues on the platoform and people were packed in the coaches. Even after half-an-hour, I could not get into a train,’ said Amrita Mishra, a student from Noida. ‘The trains were jam-packed and there was no space even to stand, the crowd was uncontrollable. The passengers pushed each other, creating a stampede-like situation,’ said a security official at the Central Secretariat Metro station. Centralised announcements were made informing public about the services.
‘There was tremendous rush at each station as soon as partial services were resumed and many were waiting outside the stations especially at Rajiv Chowk, Kashmere Gate and Central Secretariat. The first few trains were packed, and the doors were not closing due to the rush,’ a security official said.
There was chaos after the services resumed partially.
Thousands, who reached the stations, decided to wait and many switched over to buses and autos. Meanwhile, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) said they plied extra buses to meet the rush.
Delhi Metro operates over 2,700 trips a day, covering about 70,000 km and carrying around 1.8 million passengers on week days. Over the years, the Metro has become a cheap, convenient and reliable mode of commuting in the capital.
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