The Purple Line services of the Bengaluru Metro were hit earlier this morning causing inconvenience to commuters and office goers. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials said the services were disrupted by a technical snag between Baiyappanahalli and Garudacharpalya stations after 8 am, The Indian Express reported. The trains had to be run at a slow speed due to signalling issues between the two stations.
This is not the first time the services on the Purple Line have taken a hit. Late last month, on January 29, the passengers using Bengaluru Metro’s Purple Line faced disruptions after a technical issue compelled BMRCL to halt services between MG Road and Baiyappanahalli stations.
In January, the BMRCL had announced that the Metro train operations between Peenya Industry and Nagasandra stations on the Green line would be halted for three days, spanning from January 26 to 28, due to the commissioning works of the extension line beyond Nagasandra to Madavara.
What did the BMRCL say today?
The BMRCL officials said that trains on the purple line were operating at a reduced speed from Baiyyappanahalli to Garudacharpalya due to a technical issue, adding that disruptions to the train schedules were expected. Teams are actively working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
As the services took a hit, the station platforms became crowded with passengers, resulting in heavy congestion within the trains. To alleviate the rush during peak hours, Metro officials implemented short loop services to minimise inconvenience.
Around 9:30 am, BMRCL officials confirmed that the technical issue on the purple line had been resolved by 9:20 am, and trains were operating at their regular speed. A spokesperson for BMRCL mentioned, “It will take another hour to normalise the cascading effects and to run as per schedule.”
The social media was abuzz with commuters’ posts expressing their agony. Mallikarjuna B, a passenger, posted on X, that he was stuck at Vijayanagar station at 10:05 am. “Huge passengers surge at the stations, the issue is resolved only after all stuck passengers are boarded. Please look into finding a permanent fix if it happens again,” he wrote.