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Purple line glitch leaves thousands stranded during rush hour
Bengaluru: A major technical snag on Namma Metro’s Purple Line triggered severe disruption during Bengaluru’s evening rush hour on Tuesday, June 23, leaving thousands of passengers stranded across several stations.
The disruption began around 6.30 pm after a train developed a fault in the underground section near Cubbon Park Metro Station. According to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), the Operations Control Centre detected the issue and immediately deployed operations and maintenance teams to fix the problem.
Due to the breakdown, Purple Line services were split into two separate sections - between Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Station Majestic and Challaghatta, and between Indiranagar and Whitefield Kadugodi. Services through the affected underground stretch remained suspended for several hours, causing long waiting times and heavy overcrowding at stations.
A senior BMRCL official said the snag was caused by damage to the Current Collector Device, a crucial component that draws power from the electrified third rail and supplies it to the train’s traction motors.
“The CCD was damaged before the train reached Cubbon Park Metro Station, leading to the technical fault,” the official said.
Passengers on board the affected train said they heard a loud noise moments before the train came to a halt. One commuter, Alan D’Souza, wrote on X that a “huge sound” came from the last coach as the train entered the Cubbon Park tunnel. He also claimed that the rear motor drives were not functioning properly and that the train was jerking occasionally.
As the disruption continued, entry to MG Road Metro Station was temporarily closed, while Cubbon Park Metro Station also remained shut. Long queues were seen outside Indiranagar, MG Road and Cubbon Park stations as commuters waited for updates and searched for alternative transport.
Police personnel made repeated announcements, guiding passengers towards BMTC buses, autorickshaws and cab services. However, the sudden surge in demand led to delays, shortages and steep crowding on roads as well.
Videos of commuters hitching rides on lorries and trucks went viral on social media, drawing sharp criticism from citizens and political leaders.
Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya criticised the repeated Metro disruptions, saying such failures bring the city to a standstill. He said commuters in India’s Silicon Valley were forced to take lifts on trucks and lorries just to get home after work.
Metro authorities later restored partial services between MG Road and Whitefield, but delays and overcrowding continued at several stations through the evening.
BMRCL said repair work continued overnight and the fault was fully rectified by 5 am on Wednesday, after which normal services resumed across the Purple Line.
