A leaking water pipe inside the underground tunnel disrupted Metro services on the Blue Line for close to an hour on Tuesday.
Train services were suspended between Central and Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (Tollygunge) from 3.19pm to 4pm, the Metro spokesperson said.
In the intervening period, truncated services were run between Dakshineswar and Central in the north and between Mahanayak Uttam Kumar and Shahid Khudiram (Briji) in the south. Normal services resumed at 4pm.
“There was a leak in the drainage pipe inside the tunnel between Maidan and Rabindra Sadan. Senior Metro officers and engineers visited the spot and corrective measures were taken immediately, and train services resumed,” said an official.
The trains were suspended between Central and Tollygunge as a precautionary measure. A power block was needed because the water from the leaked pipe came in contact with the third rail, which provides power to the trains.
Much of Central Avenue, and other parts of central Calcutta, were choked because of a Trinamool rally in the afternoon. Many who banked on Metro were forced to look for other options.
The older stations and tunnels in north-south Metro, the oldest Metro in India, were built in the 1980s. The carrier has lined up an overhaul of the tunnel and stations. Rites will conduct a study for the
project.