On Friday, the services of were halted briefly on the Purple Line after a passenger dropped his token on the tracks and got down to retrieve it. The incident took place at Indiranagar Metro station around 9:22 am, as per Money Control.
Reportedly, a 20-year-old entered the tracks after dropping the token. Identified as Ravikanth, the passenger was said to be travelling from towards MG Road.
He got down on the tracks at Platform 2 where he dropped the token, seemingly unintentionally.
According to the publication, it was the man’s first metro ride. Hailing from Bihar, reportedly, the passenger was involved with construction work. “He was travelling by Metro for the first time. He is from Bihar and was heading to MG Road for construction work,” a source told the news portal.
After the incident, Emergency Trip System (ETS) and Emergency Stop Plunger (ESP) were activated by the station security personnel. The passenger was reported rescued and later handed over to the Metro staff.
In a statement, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) shared, “On Line-1 (Purple Line), at approximately 9:22 am, Emergency Trip System (ETS) and Emergency Stop Plunger (ESP) were activated at Indiranagar Metro Station after a passenger entered the tracks. The passenger was safely rescued.”
“Consequently, train services on Purple Line were delayed by approximately 10 minutes. Additionally, a few trains on Green Line were regulated to avoid overcrowding at Kempegowda Majestic Interchange Station. Normal train services on both lines were restored from 9:40 am,” it added.
The third rail in the metro system is an additional, electrified rail. It runs alongside or between the standard steel running tracks. It is responsible for supplying direct current (DC) electric power to the train.
However, it also poses a great safety risk as it sits at ground level.
There have been several incidents in the past where passengers have fallen onto the tracks or got down on the tracks willingly. Reacting to the incident, a section of people talked about the long-standing demands for platform screen doors (PSDs).
Reacting to the incident, a user wrote in the comment section of BMRCL’s post, “Its high time we install Platform Edge Doors to avoid these kind of incidents happen (sic).”
“Costliest metro in India, hopeless services,” added another.
Currently, stations are not equipped with PSDs.
