New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) Delhi Metro services were delayed during Monday morning peak hours as a commuter aboard a Noida-bound train fainted at the Ramesh Nagar Metro station.
"A passenger had fainted at the Ramesh Nagar Metro station of the Blue line and required assistance. That caused a slight delay and there was no technical problem," according to a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official.
"The incident occurred at 8.52 a.m. and the train could move forward only after the passenger was deboarded. The process caused a delay of six minutes," he added.
The episode created a huge hassle for the Delhi Metro commuters as the short delay was followed by an extremely tardy service.
Commuters got frustrated by long waiting times for trains of the Blue line that comprises of two corridors -- from Dwarka Sector 21 to Noida City Centre and Dwarka Sector 21 to Vaishali. They complained that the Delhi Metro at times did not run alternate services for Noida City Centre and Vaishali.
"Every train to Noida is followed by two trains to Vaishali. Today, the travel was all the more annoying due to halts of at least five minutes at every station. Once it reached Yamuna Bank station, the situation became worse with people screaming, fighting for space and dropping their phones," an HCL employee, who was travelling to her office in Noida Sector 16, told IANS.
"There were quite a lot of people who couldn't get down at their stations and found a way out after almost three to four stations," she added.
Commuters also complained that travelling by the Blue line during peak hours in the morning and evening was getting to be tiring.
"Travelling by the Blue line isn't at all convenient in the morning and also in the evening between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Today, the situation was even worse as I had to wait for 15 minutes at the Dwarka Metro station to board the train to Noida Sector 15," a Just Dial employee, Neha Khanna, told IANS.
She said that Monday's case is understandable but on usual days also there are quite a number of issues.
"There is a huge problem of overpopulation in the state and the Metro fails to accommodate so many people. The indication of the Metro station is also incorrect many times. There is a huge need to increase the frequency of trains during office hours," a resident of Mandi House said.
The Metro official explained that several measures have been taken and the problem is being dealt with.
"Many beneficial changes have been made. Several six-coach trains have been converted into the eight-coach ones. In year 2017, we are bringing more trains to address the issue," the official added.
