A Metro train travelled a couple of stations with an open door during the morning rush on Wednesday.
Despite the presence of a Railway Protection Force jawan to guard the door, the passengers in the crowded compartment of the Dakshineswar-bound train felt unsafe, especially because the train was on the overhead viaduct for a part of the journey.
The train, one of the older AC rakes, arrived at Kudghat (Netaji) station around 9.25am. The second door of the first compartment did not close.
Malfunctioning doors have been a thorn in the Metro fleet for a long time. Even the newer lot of Medha rakes were not immune to the problem when they arrived.
The driver came and tried to fix the problem but could not, according to eyewitnesses.
An RPF jawan was then called in. He stood at the open door to prevent people from coming too close to it when the train was moving.
When the train reached the next station, Tollygunge (Mahanayak Uttam Kumar), the same gate was used by passengers to board the compartment. A technician also boarded the train and started working on the door. Finally, the gate was partially fixed when the train reached Kalighat, passengers said.
The gate remained closed for the rest of the journey till Dakshineswar.
At Rabindra Sarobar, the platform was on the other side and passengers boarded through the opposite door.
“It was really scary, especially between Kudghat and Tollygunge. The train was moving fast on the viaduct and the canal was below. The jawan kept asking people to stay away from the door,” said Sayantani Barman Roy, 28, a regular commuter who travels between Kudghat, where she lives, and Rabindra Sadan, where her office is.
The stretch between Tollygunge and New Garia is on an overhead viaduct.
“At Rabindra Sarobar, we kept on warning people not to board our compartment. It was already crowded and more people meant passengers like me, who stood close to the faulty door, were at the risk of being pushed further back towards the edge,” she said.
A Metro official said the door suffered from a “mechanical glitch”.
“Our staff reacted promptly. An RPF jawan manned the door all along. The train reached Dakshineswar and then made a return journey to New Garia (Kavi Subhash) where it was taken to the car shed. The door was shut all along. A detailed examination will reveal the reason for the glitch,” said an official.
While the passengers said the door was closed at Kalighat, the official said it was shut when the train reached Rabindra Sarobar station.