When Swati Prabhu, a research assistant with South Asian Forum for Human Rights, got on a Metro train at Adarsh Nagar around 9.30 am on Tuesday, something extraordinary was taking place 13 stations away at the Central Secretariat station, where she gets off every day to another train to her workplace at Lajpat Nagar.

Having just switched on the tunnel ventilation and Tunnel lights of the section, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials were at that point finalizing details of a rescue train.

It had all begun just minutes before Swati hopped on to the train: at precisely 9.24 am: an eight-coach Metro train travelling between Jahangirpuri and Huda City Centre broke down in the tunnel connecting Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan. The official reason given was the trite “technical snag”, though DMRC has set up an inquiry panel to look into the issue.

According to officials, the train was carrying nearly 1,800 passengers. While rescue operations took about an hour and all passengers were safely transported to the platform, it left the Metro schedule completely haywire.

“It took me nearly three hours to complete the journey (Adarsh nagar to Central Secretariat) that takes about 45 minutes,” Swati said on Tuesday afternoon, long after the nightmare was over. “People were clueless about what was happening; our train was stopping at each station for nearly 20 or 25 minutes, and I am told similar was the situation with every train on the line.

The announcements inside (the train) hardly provided us with any information. In fact, the driver announced a couple of time, ‘if you have to reach a destination on time, it is advisable you take another mode of transportation.’ That was of little help since we were clueless what was happening.”

Swati said DMRC authorities had restricted all trains till Central Secretariat, and the crowd was spilling over, literally. “The rush was maddening at Kashmere Gate, and even stations like Civil Lines, which hardly cater to many people on a usual day, were crowded,” she added.

After the rescue operations were complete, the train was taken off the tracks at 11.30 am and sent to Green Park siding. According to DMRC officials, two empty trains were sent from Vishwavidyalaya at 11 am to clear the rush  at Rajiv Chowk and Kashmere Gate stations.

In all, six round trips between Jahangirpuri and Huda City Centre and four round trips between Vishwavidyalaya and Qutub Minar were cancelled, while five round trips were delayed.

An incident of this scale last occurred two years ago. Anuj Dayal, executive director of corporate communications at DMRC, “The Metro runs on ‘fail safe’ mode. If there is the slightest risk, we stop the train.”

The incident led to a three-member inquiry panel being set up by Mangu Singh, managing director of Delhi Metro. The committee comprises executive director (safety), executive director (rolling stock) and general manager (operations) of DMRC and will look into the reasons of failure and recommend additional measures for evacuation process in the underground tunnel. 

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN:
9.24 am: An eight-coach train stranded midsection between Central Secretariat  and Udyog Bhawan Metro stations

9.24 am to 9.37 am: DMRC staff and operation control centre attempt local troubleshooting repairs to restart the train

9.30 am: Tunnel ventilation and tunnel lights of the section switched on

9.37 am: DMRC’s operational managers decide to rescue the stranded train with the help of another regular passenger train available immediately behind this train at Central Secretariat platform

9.37 am to 9.50 am: The planned rescue train available at Central Secretariat is emptied of regular passengers. Train operator of the stranded train is instructed to come to the rear cab to receive the rescue train

9.50 am: Passengers from the stranded train push open the emergency door of the train on their own and came on to the track towards Central Secretariat without authorisation. Some passengers also enter the adjacent track meant for movement of passengers travelling from Huda City Centre towards Jahagirpuri (the DMRC OCC had ordered stoppage of trains on this track also as a precautionary measure before starting the rescue operation)

9.55 am: As the passengers were on the track the operational managers decided to abandon the plan of using the rescue train to push the stranded train to the next station since this would have endangered lives

9.50 am to 10.45 am: 1,791 passengers evacuated from the stranded train and track clearance given

9.45 am to 10.45 am: Two short loop services   started between Green Park to Huda City Centre and Central Secretariat  to Jahangirpuri

10.59 AM: Stranded train taken to Green Park siding

11.00 am: Normal services resumed