Metro rail grinds to halt for an hour as polythene gets tangled on electric cables during storm
The services stopped around 7:45am in the morning and resumed around 8:45am
The metro rail services were disrupted for an hour this morning (31 March) as a piece of polythene, carried by the wind, became tangled in the overhead electrical cable near Farmgate station during a storm.
The services stopped around 7:45am in the morning and resumed around 8:45am.
"The polythene needed to be removed to resume the services. The metro rail is now operating normally," said Nasir Uddin Ahmed, director (operation and maintenance) of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited DMTCL.
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The first train of the day reportedly left Uttara North station at 7:10am but had to stop at Farmgate due to the polythene on the electrical line.
After removing the polythene and restoring the power lines, the train resumed its operation at 8:35am.
Regular metro rail commuters have expressed dissatisfaction over the disruption.
"Every time it rains, the entire capital seems to crumble. I hoped the metro would provide a reliable alternative for people to get home on rainy days." Imtiaz Rahman, a regular metro commuter, wrote on Facebook.
"However, I've noticed the metro often facing disruptions in rainy days. What exactly leads to these interruptions during rain and wind? Is it due to obstructions or are there other factors at play?" he asked.
Talking to The Business Standard, another regular Metro rail commuter said, "When I reached the Uttara north station at 7:40am, a massive queue of passengers was waiting to enter the platform."
"The authorities were announcing that the metro rail services are temporarily on hold due to mechanical failure and apologising for the inconvenience on speaker inside the station," she added.
"We didn't have any options other than waiting as taking an alternative means of travel would further delay us from reaching our workplaces," she said.
