Metro services on Blue Line affected due to signalling cable theft: DMRC

Train services between Dwarka and Dwarka Sector 21 section of Blue Line was regulated for a few hours on Monday as a portion of signalling cable was stolen and restoration work was underway.

"Train services were regulated between Dwarka and Dwarka Sector-21 section of Blue Line from the start of services in the morning till 11:30 am today. This was necessitated to re-lay a portion of signalling cable (approx. 25 metres) which was found to be stolen and also to repair another portion of signalling cable (around 13 metres) nearby which bore cut marks," Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a statement.Some miscreants cut and stole these signalling cables on up section of Blue Line between Dwarka Sector 9 and Dwarka Sector 10 stations on the night of March 15 and 16. This resulted in a signalling issue in this section, restricting trains to move in manual mode with a limited speed of up to 25 kmph only."To undertake the immediate restoration of cables/signalling in this section, trains were run on a single line (down line) between Dwarka Sector 9 to Dwarka Sector 12 stations of the Blue Line till 11:30 am, resulting into bunching of trains during peak hours and delay on the Dwarka-Dwarka Sector 21 section," DMRC stated.

The entire relaying and repair of cable work was completed by 11:30 am. Subsequently, the normal movement was restored on the affected section."The theft of these cables is a matter of grave concern for the DMRC which it has been facing for quite some time now. The miscreants, despite all the preventive measures put in place by DMRC, somehow manage to enter the premises putting their lives at risk to steal these cables for petty gains," the statement said.

"DMRC lodges the FIR in such cases and breakthroughs have also been made in the past by the police. However, in recent times, such incidents have witnessed a spurt with 14-15 such cases reported on Airport Line alone in February 2020," it further said.