In what comes as a major inconvenience to passengers using the Chennai Metro Rail Services (CMRL) across the city, the service came to an abrupt halt on a busy Monday morning. It was initially reported that the delays across the network were on account of Over Head Equipment (OHE) issues. While officials are attending to the issue, many commuters who prefer the service for long distance travel have been affected.
However, speaking to TNM, CMRL officials said that only a portion of the stretch was affected.
“There is a slight delay in the Little Mount to Airport stretch. All other stretches are functioning properly. There is a technical snag and we are attending to it. It will take another half hour to one hour to resolve. There is no problem in OHE. We are trying to identify the problem,” said one Metro official.
The delays also come as a major embarrassment to the CMRL for just a day earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the final stretch of the Chennai Metro’s Phase I via video conference from Tirupur district, linking Washermanpet and AG-DMS. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam were also present, marking the completion of the Rs 14,600 crore project which opened to the public in June 2015 with the Koyambedu- Alandur stretch.
With this, the 45-km stretch of the CMRL is now complete, linking Washermanpet in north Chennai to the Chennai Airport in Meenambakkam. The new stretch, which is entirely underground, includes eight stops: Washermanpet, Mannady, Madras High Court, Chennai Central, Government Estate, LIC, Thousand Lights and AG-DMS.
One user on Twitter posted photos from near the Chennai Airport, stating, “The train stopped in the middle near Meenambakkam and we were asked to get out and walk like this. #pathetic #chennaimetro #CMRL”
@cmrlofficial The train stopped in the middle near Meenambakkam and we were asked to get out and walk like this. #pathetic #chennaimetro #CMRL pic.twitter.com/4w4hqZGXNC
— Vignesh (@Vignesh188RK) February 11, 2019