Kolkata’s East-West Metro (Green Line) came to a sudden halt on Wednesday morning, bringing metro services to a standstill between Howrah Maidan and Sector V.
The disruption, which lasted about an hour, hit during peak office hours and forced passengers to seek alternative transport to reach their destinations.
“We waited at the platform for the train. After almost 40 minutes or so an announcement was made that services are unavailable and the money would be refunded. There were long queues at the counter to unblock the cards,” said a passenger, who took the ferry from Howrah station to cross the river and reach BBD Bag.
The incident occurred at a time when the Kolkata Metro’s Blue Line — from Dakshineswar to Shahid Khudiram — has been experiencing repeated disruption over technical issues, raising concerns among commuters about the reliability of services across the network.
Metro officials said the trouble began shortly after 11am when a technical fault was detected on the line. Train movement was immediately suspended on both up and down tracks as a safety measure, and maintenance teams were activated to locate and repair the fault. Trains already in service were taken back to the nearest stations and commuters were asked to vacate.
The closure also led to heavy traffic on the Howrah Bridge and along Central Avenue.
Metro authorities stated that restoration work was carried out immediately after the fault was noticed. Services resumed in phases once inspection teams cleared the tracks. Officials said a detailed review would be conducted to prevent recurrence.