Bird hit stalls Blue Line, thousands left stranded

New Delhi: Thousands of passengers were stranded at various Metro stations after an overhead electrical (OHE) wire sagged on the busy Dwarka to Noida corridor due to a bird hit, which also triggered a short circuit. The snag affected the train services on the route for over three hours during the evening rush hours.

A crowd swelled across the stations of the corridor, which connects Noida City Centre to Dwarka in West Delhi, as the trains were being operated on a single line between Indraprastha and Yamuna Bank stations. The incident happened around 4.55 pm, minutes before the evening peak period which sees thousands of home-bound commuters taking the rapid transit with office hours coming to an end around this time.

Necessary repair work, through regulation of train movement, was completed by 7.40 pm, a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official said.

“An eagle hit led to a short-circuit of insulator, resulting in sagging of catenary wire. The insulator flashed and broke.

“Consequently, the train movement was regulated on this line. Trains were run on a single line, alternatively in either direction while repair work was carried out. The snag had hit the down line (that goes towards Noida/Vaishali),” the official said.

Passengers complained that the trains were operating at a snail’s pace at several stations including Indraprastha and were halting for a longer time than was usual.

“I waited for over one-and-a-half hours at the IP Extension Metro station for the train to start. Due to this, the platform was overcrowded,” Rajeev Mukhi, a daily commuter said.

Busy stations like Rajiv Chowk and Mandi House were choc-a-bloc with people trying to board a train. Moreover, the entry and exit points were not shut to control the swelling crowds. Several commuters started leaving to try other modes of transport.