Faulty doors, the most common problem of Calcutta Metro, disrupted services thrice on Saturday within a span of two hours.

A Dum Dum-bound train ran three stations with a door wide open, a passenger alleged. Two other trains travelling to New Garia had to be evacuated and the rakes taken to the yard because of malfunctioning doors.

In one train a door was not closing, while in the other doors on both sides of a coach was opening at the same time.

On August 21, an AC Metro train with passengers on board ran its full stretch from Dum Dum to New Garia with one of its doors wide open. According to existing safety checks, a train is not supposed to start until all the doors close properly.

Metro gives a lowdown on the three snags on Saturday.

New Garia

The first incident was brought to Metro’s notice by a passenger. Satyen Sardar, 50, had boarded the non-AC train from New Garia a little before 3pm. He said he was “in the second or third coach” of the train.

At the next two stations, the door opened and closed with a thud, said Sardar. After opening at the third station (Naktala), it remained that way, he added.

“A Metro staff spent some time examining the door at Gitanjali (Naktala) station. But the problem persisted. The door remained open as the train ran from Naktala to Tollygunge. As the train crossed Kudghat, one of the flaps closed partially,” said Sardar, who was headed to Esplanade. “With the train headed for Tollygunge station, another Metro employee closed the door forcefully. The door was then tied with a wire,” he told Metro.

In a Facebook post, Sardar called the snag limitless callousness and extreme neglect for passenger safety. “Sitting inside that Metro, I was in extreme fear for my life. A major accident was averted because this glitch took place in a less crowded Metro that ran in the afternoon. The situation could have been very dangerous if this took place during peak office hours,” the post reads.

The stretch between New Garia and Tollygunge is on a viaduct. The platforms at all the stations are on the left.

Metro authorities said they were not aware of any such incident. “We will look into the incident,” a senior official said when Metro sent him the picture.

Netaji Bhavan

An air-conditioned train was stranded at Netaji Bhavan station for over 15 minutes after a door in the first coach would not close. The train, travelling to New Garia, arrived at 3.54pm. The motorman spotted the defective door and tried closing it but was unsuccessful.

The passengers were asked to get down and the empty train left for the New Garia yard around 4.11pm, said an official.

Metro sources said the train had undergone a periodic overhaul — where it was inspected thoroughly and faulty and weary parts replaced — only two months ago.

Sources said a roller — of the size of a small bearing — in the door’s channel got displaced and caused the glitch.

Jatin Das Park

A New Garia-bound non-AC train that pulled in at Jatin Das Park at 4.33pm was also stranded after doors in the fifth coach developed a snag. All the door on both sides of the coach opened at the same time. There are eight doors in each coach of a Metro, four on the right and four on the left. All four doors on one side open according to the position of the platform at every station.

A Metro official said some passengers informed the driver when all eight doors opened together. “Every time the driver tried opening the door, all eight doors of the coach opened together,” said the official.

The train was also evacuated and sent to the New Garia car shed. The reason for the glitch could not be ascertained till Saturday night, he said.

The snags came on a day Metro started running additional trains on weekends to tackle the pre-Puja rush.

“We did not want to risk passenger safety and decided to evacuate the trains,” said Metro spokesperson Indrani Banerjee.