Commuters on Kolkata's Blue Line Metro faced significant delays on Wednesday evening as services were abruptly halted for close to an hour due to a technical malfunction on a train.
Sudden Halt on the Viaduct
The disruption began at 7:20 pm when a Shahid Khudiram-bound train suddenly stopped shortly after departing from Tollygunge station. The train had just begun climbing the elevated viaduct on its way to Netaji station when it came to an unexpected standstill.
Metro officials quickly identified the cause. They reported that the train's parking brake, a mechanism typically engaged only when a train is taken out of service for the day, had been inadvertently activated while the rake was in motion. This left the train stranded atop the overhead viaduct, causing immediate concern.
Emergency Response and Traffic Block
The sudden stoppage triggered a chain reaction, forcing trains behind the affected rake to also come to an abrupt halt. Engineers were immediately alerted to the situation. To ensure safety and allow for repairs, authorities implemented a traffic block on the Shahid Khudiram-bound tracks between Tollygunge and Shahid Khudiram stations.
This procedure involves switching off the third rail that supplies electricity to the trains, effectively cutting power to the affected section to allow engineers to work safely on the immobilized rake.
Service Restoration and Truncated Operations
After swift intervention by technical staff, the issue was resolved, and normal movement of trains resumed at approximately 8:05 pm, ending the nearly hour-long disruption. However, to manage the backlog and ensure passenger safety, the carrier had to run truncated services in two separate sections for a period.
The split services operated as follows:
- Shahid Khudiram-bound trains ran only on the Tollygunge to Dakshineswar section.
- Dakshineswar-bound trains operated solely between Shahid Khudiram and Dakshineswar stations.
This incident highlights the vulnerability of urban transit systems to sudden technical failures and the swift coordination required by Metro authorities to restore normalcy for the city's daily commuters.
