Identity crisis: Trains getting ‘lost’ due to Metro network errors

Technical glitches leading to train delays seem to have become a norm on Metro’s Line 3/4 (Dwarka Sector 9- Noida City Centre/Anand Vihar).

While the commuters are frequently hassled, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) maintains the technical problems, though reported on other Lines as well, are more frequent on Line 3/4 owing to its length and ridership size.

Of the 16,700 trips per month on this Line, only 14-15 trips are cancelled due to technical glitches on an average, DMRC officials claimed.

Line 3/4, the longest line in the Metro network, has a passenger load of the other three Metro Lines put together.The Blue Line, as it is called, has often faced the ire of commuters due to frequent delays and overcrowding at stations and on trains.

On June 1, and then briefly on June 2, train services were disrupted on the Line due to a technical snag, leaving commuters stranded for over half an hour at the peak hour between 10 am and 4 pm.

After the incidents, the DMRC said network failure led to the trains losing their identification numbers and then getting stranded on the tracks. “There was a hardware failure due to which the computer network didn’t work and the trains lost their ID numbers. The ID numbers are crucial for trains because that determines their destination. So when this number is lost they don’t know which direction to head for, Anand Vihar or Noida,” said Raj Kumar, Director (Operations), DMRC.

“The trains then had to be taken over on manual mode. There is also a provision of fallback automation. Though in the case it took barely 20 minutes to switch systems, the impact was felt for a much longer time. This is because during these 20 minutes, other trains on the route were held up causing bunching on the line,” Kumar said.

“Line 3 is already the longest line and has the highest ridership with around 5.5 lakh passengers per day. When even a few trains are delayed, the stations and trains get further congested. Commuters start getting impatient and try to get onto trains that are already packed. The doors are obstructed and some commuters also press the passenger alarm button, which results in a further delay,” he added.

Metro officials called the glitches minor, saying with the expanding network, the system is bound to face such problems.

THE BLUE LINE
Length
Line 3: Dwarka Sector 9-Noida City Centre — 47 km

Line 4: Yamuna Bank-Anand Vihar — 6.16 km

Trips per month
16,700

Ridership
5.5 lakh per day (approx)