Delhi Metro services return to normal : India

New Delhi, Feb 8 - Delhi Metro services were back to normal after a disruption of 45 minute following a technical snag in a train at Kirti Nagar Metro station Monday.

The route affected was Line 3 from Dwarka in the southwest of the city to Anand Vihar in east Delhi and to suburban Noida in Uttar Pradesh, which is one of the Delhi Metro's three operational routes.

'The problem started in a Metro train at Kirti Nagar station today - evening. There was a problem in opening and closing the doors of the train. The problem again resurfaced at the next station - Shadipur,' a senior Delhi Metro official said.

'For nearly half an hour, the technicians tried to rectify the problem. But when they were not able to rectify the problem, the train was taken off after which the service was resumed,' the official added.

Because of the snag, Metro trains were halted at most of the stations, leaving thousands of commuters stranded at stations, outside the stations and inside the trains.

A passenger at the Laxmi Nagar station said he waited for over an hour for a train.

'I could see hundreds of people standing at the platforms. Apparently, many were stuck inside the trains in the middle of the route. The Metro staff told us to get refund for our ticket tokens and catch some other means of conveyance,' said Rohit Khattar.

Shelly Roy, another passenger who was stuck outside the Central Secretariat station, said: 'The guards at the station didn't allow commuters to enter the station. It was only after 20 minutes that they allowed people to enter the station - that too in batches.'

Meenu Sabharwal, who commutes from Jhandewalan to Kirti Nagar daily, was also stuck due to the Metro's technical problem.

'I work at an office in Jhandewalan. Everyday I take Metro but today the Metro officials asked us to return, saying because of some problem the Metro is not running so I should take some other conveyance,' she said.

Another such commuter was Rupali, who finally called her family members to pick her up.

'I daily use Metro but today because of the the problem, I asked my family to pick me up from Jhandewalan,' she said.

Delhi Metro ferries over 900,000 passengers every day over its network of nearly 90 km.