Commuters face harrowing time as snag hits Yellow Line, share experiences on social media

Thousands of commuters on Delhi Metro's Yellow Line had a harrowing time on Tuesday after a technical snag on a section of the corridor left many of them stranded inside halted coaches on tracks or on crowded platforms. Train services were hit around 9.32 am due to breakdown of the overhead wire (OHE) at Sultanpur station, leading to tripping of power supply in the section, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials said.

Many commuters who got stranded inside coaches of halted trains before they were evacuated, took to Twitter to express their anger and frustration. They also shared pictures and videos of people walking on the tracks, overcrowded platforms and packed escalators. Gurgaon resident Jatin Takkar, who regularly takes the Yellow Line to his office near Central Secretariat, said, "I got stuck in a train for nearly 50 minutes. We had to eventually walk on the tracks to reach the platform."

The snag left commuters hassled as trains were temporarily run in two loops -- between Huda City Centre and Sultanpur and between Samaypur Badli and Qutub Minar. There was no train movement between Sultanpur and Qutub Minar stations. Chhattarpur station falls between Sultanpur and Qutub Minar.

"Metro Services Disrupted at Yellow Line.Waiting For 1 hour," tweeted @shahbaznewton. "Something got hit to metro train, probably electric wire and then powerful emergency brakes were applied by driver. We were locked inside the metro with no AC for 10 min. We were evacuated after 30 min. Thanks DMRC for evaluation," wrote another Twitter user @Ish-Chandra, and shared a picture of commuters walking on tracks towards a station platform.

Gaurav Rangnani, a software developer in a private company, who was on his way to Noida from Gurgaon, said he had "waited for nearly three hours" in the chaos, and could not enter the overcrowded Qutab Minar metro station. Meanwhile, some passengers claimed being "charged exorbitantly" for sharing auto-rickshaw rides between Qutab Minar and Sultanpur metro stations.

"I had to alight at Sultanpur and then take an auto-rickshaw to Qutab Minar. We were five passengers in the vehicle and each had to cough up Rs 100," claimed Tairas Tope, a retired government official. Cyril Mathew, also wrote on Twitter, "Chaos and crowds as metro services b/w Chattarpur & Sultanpur metros conks off. Autowalas hayday fleecing willing customers. #DelhiisDMRC. DMRC is Delhi."

Nearly three-and-a-half hours after the glitch, end-to-end services were partially restored, with trains plying between Qutub Minar and Sultanpur stations with lower frequency and in another 30 minutes, normal services resumed, the officials said. The DMRC constantly updated the status of the disruption and rectification on its social media platforms to inform commuters.

Feeder bus services were made available to stranded commuters between Qutub Minar and Sultanpur stations. The 48.8 km-long Yellow Line has 37 stations and has an average daily ridership of about seven to eight lakh.

While hundreds of commuters waited in queue to board metro trains for hours, scores of them went out to the streets to find alternative modes, mostly DTC buses and auto-rickshaws. With the metro out of service, there was surge pricing on radio cabs and auto-rickshaws.

Sources said areas near Sultanpur and Qutub Minar metro stations came under 'peak pricing' due to heavy demand of cabs following disruption of train services. "The cab drivers move in to the areas where peak pricing is applicable after being sent notification. Since, they cover extra distance and also because of the demand-supply principle, fares go up," a source said.

The technical glitch and subsequent crowding also led to massive traffic snarls in south Delhi, further compounding woes of people.