BENGALURU: Structural weakness noticed on the beam atop one of the pillars that bear the rail tracks at Trinity Metro Station, deferred train operations on the Purple Line at the scheduled time of 5 am Wednesday.

Hundreds of early commuters across the 17 stations between Baiyappanahalli and Mysuru Road were clueless when their trains failed to arrive, giving way to rumours of a total shutdown of Metro operations for the day.

Finally, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) commenced operations at 6.15am, but since trains ran only on one track instead of both for nearly two hours, all schedules went haywire and ensured that most Metro commuters who use this route reported late for work.

Among those affected was Mahesh Chandran, who takes the 5.36am train from Mysuru Road Metro station to Vidhana Soudha Station every day. He and the others waiting at the platform were told around 5.45am by a Metro staffer that they were not sure when the first train would run, and the fare would be refunded.

“Since I had swiped in using my Metro travel card before entering the platform, my entry was nullified by the customer care executive. My co-commuters handed back their tokens and got their money refunded,” he said. Chandran later took bus route 61A to Majestic and changed to route number 300 at Vidhana Soudha to reach his firm.  “I reached my work spot 20 minutes late today,” he said.

Danish Ali, who boarded a train at Baiyappanahalli Metro Station, said there was a big crowd due to a delay in arrival of trains. “I was lucky as a train arrived just as I reached the station. But there was a lot of talk at the platform that the Metro was shut for the day. No one around had any proper information.” Luckily, a train arrived, putting to rest all rumours.

At Trinity Station, where the fault on the beam was noticed, every train arrived jampacked, an unusual scene for trains during non-peak hours. Rajesh, who works at a prominent private bank on MG Road, said, “My train was very late today, and fully packed. I am very late for work.”

The first tweet from BMRCL was put out only around 9am. Asked why there was no prior intimation via the media or even a tweet from the popular Metro handle which is followed by hundreds of commuters, Chief Public Relations Officer Y L Chavan said, “We began restoration work last night and all top Metro officials were present. We thought the portion we were trying to rectify would be ready before 5am, but it got delayed,” he said. Chavan said that announcements were made every two minutes at all Metro stations after operations began.

MG Road traffic crawls during peak hour
The blockading of a 100-metre stretch on both sides of MG Road in front of Trinity Metro Station, led to traffic bottlenecks through Wednesday morning. The bad news is that the barricading on both sides of the median is likely to remain for a week. 

With the stretch from Kotak Mahindra Bank to Central Cottage Industries Emporium barricaded, navigating the road proved to be a nightmare for vehicle users.   A cop at the spot said, “The blockade was put up late last night. I have been asked to man the spot from 8am.”  A top Metro official said, “We need to conduct repeated tests to assess the strength of the concrete. It will take a few days, maybe even a week to remove the blockade on the road.”

Experts on job: CM
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy told reporters in Belagavi that he had asked for Metro operations to be stopped in Bengaluru only in the event that there was danger to public safety. “Technical experts on the subject have carried out an inspection. I have given a slew of directions. If there is no such danger, I have asked them to try to redress the issue,” he said. 

WEDNESDAY WOES

5:00 AM Trains do not begin operations on Purple Line

6:15 AM First train begins from Baiyappanahalli as well as Mysuru Road. Trains are run only along one track between MG Road and Baiyappanahalli, and back. All schedules suffer huge delays. Metro also runs loop trains between MG Road and Baiyappanahalli, and MG Road and Mysuru Road to clear rush

8:10 AM Metro begins running trains on both tracks but delays continue; each train packed. Cautionary speed observed near Trinity Metro station. Announcements on delay made every 2 minutes on both Purple and Green Lines

10:15 AM Normalcy in operations restored, though trains run with minor delays