Rain, erratic power supply affect Metro services

 New Delhi, May 30 (IANS) Commuters had a harrowing time Friday evening as Metro services were affected for close to an hour due to erratic power supply and the sudden rain which lashed the national capital.

 "The services were disrupted for about an hour between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. due to failure/erratic power supply from Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) to Delhi Metro’s receiving sub-stations across the network, which in turn feed power to the Metro system for running the trains and stations," Delhi Metro said in a statement.

The sudden storm and rain also played spoilsport as some "foreign material" like tin sheets flew into the overhead electrical wires disrupting the movement of Metro trains.

"At few locations like near Janakpuri and Inderlok stations, some foreign material (like tin sheets, pipes) flew and got entangled in the overhead electrical wires, rendering train movement impossible," Delhi Metro said.

The services resumed 6 p.m. onwards after power supply normalised and the wires were cleared.

"I was stuck at the Yamuna Bank station for more than 30 minutes, as Metro suddenly started announcing that those who can manage travelling on their own should opt for personal transport," Swati Kumar, travelling from Noida to Lodhi Road, told IANS.

"Many people left after the announcement, but I waited till the services resumed," she added.

Another commuter, Vidya Sharma, was stranded at the Dwarka sector 8 station for more than 15 minutes.

"Though the services resumed, the Metro functioned extremely slowly and stopped for more than five minutes at each station," she told IANS.