Bengaluru Metro's Purple Line services disrupted between 5am and 12:08pm on July 4 due to a signalling issue, causing inconvenience for thousands of office goers.
"Expect delays on the purple line, due to signalling issues . Staff are working to normalise . For kind info and inconvenience regretted" said Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) via a tweet at 7:35 am.
Expect delays on purple line, due to signalling issues . Staff are working to normalise . For kind info and inconvenience regretted .— ನಮ್ಮ ಮೆಟ್ರೋ (@cpronammametro) July 4, 2023
Anjum Parwez, BMRCL managing director told Moneycontrol that the delays were due to the replacement process of the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system early in the morning. He further assured that the operations had returned to normal.
@nammametro hi kya hi bhai do some improvement in this , No professionalilty like Tagarus in train pic.twitter.com/D3ez3fBWJgRelated stories
— Srinivas Gowdru (@Shrinivasgowdru) July 4, 2023
However, scores of passengers said trains were running slow during peak hours. Many office goers found themselves stranded at Metro stations, with trains becoming overcrowded. Some trains on Purple Line were terminated at Indira Nagar station instead of Byappanahalli terminal station.
No proper communication to commuters. No announcement in PA system. Stations are over crowded!! waiting time more than 30 minutes! AVOID PURPLE LINE TODAY‼️#nammametro #bengalurumetro https://t.co/tVlh5soUHz pic.twitter.com/7nCcln6Xrf— ShivReddy (@ShivKonaraddi) July 4, 2023
BL Yashwant Chavan, BMRCL Chief Public Relations Officer told Moneycontrol that issue was detected at 5:40 am on Tuesday. "We were running short loop services between Majestic and MG Road Metro stations with a frequency of 7 to 8 minutes. The frequency of services in other sections was at 10 minutes".
Some passengers complained of missing their office shuttle bus services from Metro stations due to the delays. There were also complaints about the absence of announcements through the public address (PA) systems inside the trains as well as at stations. Stations like Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Majestic interchange and Indira Nagar witnessed heavy rush.
No #metro towards Baiyappanahalli from 30 minutes! Many People waiting from long!! Atleast give info if it’s cancelled @nammametro@WF_Watcher@MDNammaMetro@cpronammametropic.twitter.com/9RJOgPrDPH— SALAAR (@FilmsCricket) July 4, 2023
AS Shankar, executive director (operations and maintenance), BMRCL, said: "In addition to the replacement of UPS system, we also undertook the work to facilitate power system for the 2.1km Byappanahalli-KR Puram section but we couldn't complete the work on time due to various reasons. Normal services restored at 12:08pm".
BMRCL Employees' Union Vice President, Suryanarayana Murthy alleged that private firm involved in the signalling and electrification work for the Byappanahalli-KR Puram section is responsible for the snag.
"The incident occurred due to the firm's negligence in correctly connecting the signalling system during their work, resulting in significant disruptions to train operations" he said.
"As a consequence, both BMRCL and its passengers have incurred substantial financial and operational hardships. BMRCL should take measures to recover the financial losses from the contractor and take appropriate disciplinary action against them" he said.
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