Early morning commuters on the Chennai Metro faced an ordeal on Tuesday when a metro train came to a halt between two stations, leaving about 20 passengers stranded in a tunnel before they were evacuated.

The incident occurred on the stretch between High Court and Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MG Ramachandran Central Metro stations, officials said.

For some passengers, the disruption turned into an unplanned walk through the underground tunnel.

Several commuters travelling towards Wimco Nagar Depot reported that the train lost electricity after getting stuck in a subway between Central Metro and High Court stations.

Videos from the scene showed individuals holding handrails and peering outside the stalled coach to understand what had happened.

After nearly 10 minutes of feeling trapped, passengers said they heard an announcement directing them to walk to the nearest station, the High Court Metro station, which was about 500 meters away.

Another video showed commuters queuing up and making their way through the tunnel to safety.

“Due to a technical issue, the Metro train halted between the High Court station and Puratchi Thalaivar Dr M G Ramachandran Central Metro Station. Immediate evacuation was done, and the train was promptly withdrawn from the line,” the Chennai Metro Rail said.

Normal operations resumed at 6.20 am, it said and regretted the inconvenience caused to the passengers.

“Metro train services between Airport and Wimco Nagar Depot on Blue Line have resumed normal Operations. Central Metro to St. Thomas Mount on the Green Line are also running as per the normal schedule,” the Chennai Metro Rail said in a post on the social media platform X.