Kolkata: The city's Blue Line services were once again disrupted on Monday, as a commuter jumped on the tracks at Maidan metro station during evening peak hours.
This was the second suicide bid in four days, one that brought services across the city's south-central axis, including the CBD, to a halt from 5.58 pm to 6.46 pm. "The passenger jumped in front of a train on the Dakshineswar-bound tracks of Maidan station. The third line was switched off to rescue the passenger. Services along the entire Blue Line resumed at 6.46 pm," a Metro Railway spokesperson said.
Even as truncated operations ran in the Central-Dakshineswar and Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (Tollygunge)-Shahid Khudiram sections, services remained suspended from Tollygunge to Central stations. In all, 11 stations, including Tollygunge and Central, from where truncated runs operated south and northwards, were affected.
Badly stuck during evening rush hours, homebound passengers had a harrowing time, looking for alternate means of transport. "App cab fares were already soaring because of traffic snarls in various areas. They hit the roof following the suicide bid that crippled so many metro stations across the city's main areas. The few buses that were plying were overcrowded. I had to pay Rs 650 to get home – from my office in Esplanade to Kudghat," said Arnab Sengupta, an executive and a daily metro commuter.
Even after services across the entire Blue Line resumed at 6.46 pm, trains were overcrowded as a cascading effect. Sasanko Das, who boarded a train from Baranagar to come to Esplanade, said, "I took the 6.12 pm train. It usually takes 15 minutes to reach Esplanade. Today, it took more than 45 minutes," the 45-year-old said.