My latest metro experience
I was in Delhi last week. Staying at Gurgaon, I had opportunity to use metro services more than 6 times during my stay. I mainly travelled on ‘Yellow’ line and also on ‘Blue’ and ‘Violet’ lines during peak as well as non-peak hours. My experience was not very good.
Delhi metro trains are usually running behind schedule by at least 3 upto 15 minutes. Reasons for running late are strange.
I found the doors of trains work on their own.
At some busy stations they many a times refuse to open for more than 2 minutes.
At some stations they get closed without warning in just 12-13 seconds.
At other not so busy stations they refuse to get closed and remain open for as long as 3 minutes.
Some times to make the doors open the train has to again start and move a few meters to stop again and try opening of door again.
Obviously this behavior is scary and also delays the movement of train.
Near Gurgaon between two stations – Guru Dronacharya (This is name of the station and not person) and Arjangarh stations there is a hump in the elevated line. Train gets slowed down and reaches the top of the hump. Once it reaches there the power supply to the train apparently gets cut-off. Half the number of lights in train go off and motors get quiet (means put off). Train starts rolling down the slope by gravity, like a roller coaster and after half a minute supply resumes, lights are back, motors start humming and after a while train again peaks up speed.
This I observed every time (6 times) I passed that stretch. I was told by co passengers that sometimes supply does not resume and train stops for a while, after it loses momentum. This is surely scary situation.
The train compartments are not as large and wide as Mumbai local compartments and get full very soon. At Rajiv Chowk station there are guards posted near each door who push the people in to pack the train like can of sardines.
Something is surely wrong.
Airport express line is ready for months but is not getting permission to operate. It is not considered safe. I heard – it is same as other lines in terms of safety but it will be operated by Relience and not by DMRC. Reliance does not have charismatic figure as its head, like DMRC has, to push the authorities to give them permission to operate.
Seeing all this make me worried about what we have in store.
