Over 500 people get stuck inside Lucknow Metro on first day of commercial run

On its first day of commercial run, the newly-inaugurated Lucknow Metro came to a halt due to technical glitches. Over 500 passengers were stuck inside the Lucknow Metro for more than an hour due to a technical snag today, reports said.

The lighting and air-conditioning went off as the train came to a halt near Mavaiya. The 8.5-km 'priority corridor' runs from Transport Nagar to Charbagh in the city.

Passengers, who had come to take their first ride in Lucknow metro, were stuck until a team of the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) came for help. The passengers were evacuated from the emergency exit on the back.

"There was some fault in this traction and we are working on it. All trains are plying on the other parallel track," an LMRC official said.

Lucknow Metro was given the green light by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath along with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh just yesterday.

To claim credit of providing metro service in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav engaged in a Twitter war on Tuesday

The UP CM's office posted a video on its official Twitter handle, in which Adityanath is seen saying, "Your wish has finally come true. This metro is yours - this is a gift for your from the central and state governments." "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always been in favour of a congestion-free, cheaper and eco-friendly public transport system," he said in the video message.

Adityanath and Union home minister Rajnath Singh flagged off the metro's maiden run on a 8.5-km priority corridor from Transport Nagar to Charbagh in the first phase. It will be thrown open to the public tomorrow. "We have set a target of March 2019 to complete the second phase of the project," Adityanath said in the video.

About an hour before the chief minister's office tweeted the video, Akhilesh posted his photographs on his Twitter handle with team members and officials of Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation.

The photos were clicked when Akhilesh was the chief minister and were published as full-page advertisements in leading newspapers here. Akhilesh posted a series of tweets to claim credit for the metro services.

(with PTI inputs)