Technical glitch strands train on the tracks over an hour, Blue Line services hit
Telegraph | 29 December 2025
Metro services on the Blue Line (Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash) were disrupted for over an hour on Sunday afternoon after a train developed a technical glitch and got stranded on the tracks, 50 metres ahead of Tollygunge station.
An official of the Metro Railway said that the emergency brakes of a Dakshineswar-bound train, suddenly got activated, causing it to stop on the tracks.
Emergency brakes get applied automatically in case of some technical glitches, said the official.
“The motorman could have driven the train into the platform, but that might have triggered other problems. It was therefore decided that the train would remain where it was and passengers would be asked to walk to the station,” said a Metro official.
“The cause of the emergency brake getting activated automatically is being investigated,” said the official.
Power supply to the third rail, from which Metro rakes draw the power, was cut off before passengers were asked to walk down the tracks, said an official.
Passengers were brought down from the train through the driver’s cabin, said an official. The glitch in the rake occurred around 11.30am.
Truncated services were run between Maidan and Dakshineswar stations till 1 pm, after which normal services were restored, officials said.
Being the last Sunday of the year, coupled with pleasant weather, the train was more crowded than on other Sunday afternoons.
Sources said passengers remained stranded inside the train for nearly 30 minutes before they were asked to walk down the tracks to the platform.
One passenger complained of feeling suffocated inside the coach, while another told reporters that there was no announcement for a long time explaining why the train was stuck.
As services were disrupted, many people who were out enjoying the winter afternoon bore the brunt of the disruption.
Buses heading towards Esplanade from south Calcutta and vice versa were packed to the brim, with passengers hanging from the foot boards of the buses.
“If one bus arrived, scores of people would run to board it. The buses were completely packed, and at every stop more people tried to get in,” said a woman.