The Chennai Metro came to a halt for about four hours on Friday due to a power outage after a bird struck an overhead electrical traction device near the Arumbakkam metro station.

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) spokesperson said that the incident happened around 3pm and all the operations were resumed by 6:32 pm. 

“After a bird hit an insulator near Arumbakkam metro station, it led to failure in the electrical overhead traction between Koyambedu to Ashok Nagar. Out of the two lines, only one line was under complete operation,” said the spokesperson.

CMRL officials used the alternate line between Koyambedu and Ashok Nagar to operate one train in either directions in every 15 minutes instead of 10 minutes. 

The glitch led to passengers getting stranded at the metro stations during peak hours. 

Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) officials said they had restored services by 6.32pm but The Times of India reported that passengers were waiting at the platform till 7pm.

The CMRL official told ToI that the services were not affected between Alandur and the airport. 

But passengers said that a woman staffer at the entry did not allow them into the metro station, reported ToI.

The New Indian Express reported that the CMRL is planning to use ultrasonic bird repellers which emit high frequency sound waves, to keep the birds away and strobe lights to ensure there is no halt in train services.