Lucknow Metro Train Breaks Down On Day First, Over 100 Passengers Had To Be Evacuated

Over a hundred passengers got stuck inside the Lucknow Metro due to a technical complication for over an hour on the first day of the Metro’s commercial run in the city.

The train stopped near Mawaiya; passengers, including school children, were cramped in the metro for over an hour without lights and air conditioning.

As reported by NDTV, the Metro debuted in the city for use by commuters and began its commercial operations today, September 6, was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Home Minister Rajnath Singh on September 5. Governor Ram Naik was also present for the inaugural occasion.

A team of officials from the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) arrived to remove the passengers through an emergency exit after the train was suspended between the stations of Mawaiya and Durgapuri.

According to an official, the problem was due to technical fault linked to a traction pump. He said “There was some fault in this traction and we are working on it. All trains are plying on the other parallel track.”

Akhilesh Yadav, former Chief Minister of the state, slammed this failure on Twitter, saying, “The Lucknow Metro had been built and was ready for a while now, The union government, via the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), took such a long time to give the No Objection Certificate (NOC), in spite of that, the metro failed on the day first!”

लखनऊ मेट्रो तो पहले से ही बनकर तैयार थी, भारत सरकार ने CMRS के जरिए NOC देने में इतना लंबा वक़्त लिया, फिर भी पहले ही दिन मेट्रो ठप ! pic.twitter.com/zTclU6qdzm

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) September 6, 2017

The metro route which has opened today covered 8.5 km and was built over two years at the cost of about Rs 6,800 crore.

The metro line comprises eight stations in all. The Lucknow Metro connects the Charbagh Railway Station to Transport Nagar for now. Later, It would eventually stretch to the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, which would be two stations away.