Namma Metro Purple Line Delay Metal Chain Train Door Bmrcl

A day after peak-hour services on Namma Metro’s Purple Line were disrupted when a train’s doors failed to close, officials revealed on Friday that a commuter’s metal chain caused the snag.

“Investigations by the operations and maintenance teams revealed that a metal chain belonging to a commuter was lodged in the train door guideway, preventing the doors from closing properly,” Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said in a statement.

“A detailed examination of the train and its door systems has confirmed that there was no technical malfunction in the train equipment,” the statement added. BMRCL said all necessary safety protocols were followed before the train was cleared for service.

The technical issue occurred at Cubbon Park Metro Station at around 7.36 pm on Thursday. When the doors of a train failed to close properly, commuters were deboarded at the station as a precautionary safety measure. The procedure took approximately 17 minutes to complete, causing temporary delays to the next five train services.

On Tuesday, Namma Metro operations on the Purple Line were affected by a technical glitch, which halted services during the evening hours. The operations only resumed on Wednesday morning. While an investigation into this incident is underway, officials said that damage to the electrified third rail powering the train led to the halt of operations.

The Namma Metro in Bengaluru has a daily ridership of about 9 to 10 lakh, and the Purple Line alone caters to 4.50 lakh commuters.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and MLC CT Ravi had slammed the disruptions on Namma Metro, saying the “alarmingly frequent breakdowns” could not “become the norm in a global city”.