Delhi Metro: For some passengers a journey of frequent glitches and unscheduled stoppages

Kartikey Shrama, a class 12th student, takes the Delhi Metro to his coaching centre in Hauz Khaz village everday. But last month, when he left home early in the morning to reach his exam centre, little did he know that he would never make it to the exam centre because of the Delhi Metro. The Metro took an unscheduled halt on the Yellow Line for one hour, which led to Kartikey missing his exam.

And, Kartikey is not the only one to have suffered such inconveniences in an otherwise efficient Delhi Metro. Another incident which troubled Delhi Metro users happened on July 1 when the Metro again got stuck at the Preet Vihar Metro station for about an hour.

Salman Ravi, an eyewitness, told ANI that the gates were open the whole time and there were no announcements which would keep the passengers updated. They were told that a glitch had occurred in the system, but no prior information was announced for their convenience.

Upon calling the Delhi Metro Helpline service, an operator called Joginder blamed bad weather for the delay. He said, "A permanent cure for these delays and inconvenience is being worked upon, but the Metro works efficiently for the whole year, and the commuters should co-operate with us if the metro delays once in a while."

A Delhi Metro loyal who did not wish to be named said, "Delhi Metro claims to be the most efficient and convenient mode of transportation, but over time, it has depreciated in its service value. Delhi Metro these days is creating a great inconvenience for the people who commute by it."

The people, who rely on the Metro to provide them with great service so that they can reach their destination on time are deeply inconvenienced by the on-going Metro glitches.

On July 17, one of Delhi Metro's greatest blunder occurred when the Metro sped from Arjangarh to Ghitorni with its electronic doors wide open. This embarrassing incident could have easily turned into a tragedy if the train had been crowded, which it usually is.

Eyewitnesses claim that the doors were open for about 85 seconds while the Metro ran at the speed of 60 km/hour.

According to DMRC's report, the train operator was responsible for the incident and has been suspended immediately while the matter is being further investigated.

Tripti Garg, who commutes to work every day via metro said, "It is regular for us to wait at Yamuna Bank Metro station for at least 15 minutes. Even after that, the Metro takes various stops due to which I'm late for work every day. What makes it even more inconvenient is the unpredictable nature of Metro, one day it might take various stops, while another day it might not take any."

A similar incident had happened on May 30 when the Metro did not move from the AIIMS Metro station for about an hour. A thunderstorm which led to a traffic jam in all the major hubs of Delhi left the Metro as the most convenient mode of transportation.

Besides the mounting technical glitches, Delhi Metro is also falling short on maintaining cleanliness, said Tripti Garg.

"The rules which were supposed to be strictly implemented are ignored. Every day men board the ladies coach, sneaking past guards who are busy with crowd control at peak hours. The frequency of the Metro on the Blue Line and the Red Line is also low which makes the Metro unbelievably crowded and the commuters don't even have space to breathe let alone stand," she added.

DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal declined to comment on the issue when contacted.