Metro services were disrupted twice on Tuesday, leaving trains stranded at stations.
The first disruption was caused by a snag in a train and the second by a fire that was spotted in a pillar of the viaduct near Tapan Sinha Memorial Hospital, near Tollygunge station.
“A Kavi Subhash (New Garia)-bound Metro was detained at Sovabazar station from 11.30am because of some technical problem at Coach No. 3201,” the carrier said.
The glitch forced Metro to run truncated services on two stretches — between Dum Dum and Dakshineswar and between Central and New Garia.
“Normal services resumed at 12.18pm,” Metro spokesperson Kausik Mitra said.
Several trains were stranded at multiple stations because of the glitch.
A Sovabazar resident boarded a Dakshineswar-bound train at Chandni Chowk station around 11.40am. The train remained stranded at the station for over 30 minutes.
A Metro official attributed the snag to “brake-binding”. It means an unintended application of brakes that impedes the rotation of the wheel.
“There are 96 wheels under a rake. Locating the affected wheel took some time,” he said.
In the evening, a fire was spotted in a pillar of the viaduct near Tapan Sinha Memorial Hospital. “The fire started in a pile of dry leaves,” said an official.
“As a precaution, Metro services between Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (Tollygunge) and Kavi Subhash (New Garia) stations were suspended from 6.40pm,” Mitra said.
Trains ran between Tollygunge and Dakshineswar, said Mitra. Normal services resumed at 7.05pm, he added.
A Bansdroni resident was stuck at Esplanade station for 30 minutes from 6.45pm. “I reached the platform around 6.45pm. The first train to New Garia rolled in around 7.15pm. By then, the crowd had swelled on the platform,” said Ankhi Datta.