Kolkata Metro passengers on the Blue Line were caught in a maze of confusion and long waits on Monday after several trains that were supposed to run up to Shahid Khudiram were abruptly turned back from Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (Tollygunge).
With little or no announcements, commuters travelling towards Shahid Khudiram from Tollygunge were left scrambling for information. Several passengers said they had to rely on word-of-mouth updates from fellow commuters or hurried exchanges with station staff.
The few rakes that did run beyond Tollygunge were overcrowded.
On Monday morning, commuters waiting at stations such as Netaji, Masterda Surya Sen and Gitanjali said they watched multiple trains zip past without stopping or showing the correct destination on the indicator boards.
The waiting time also stretched well beyond the usual five to seven minutes. At the height of the morning rush, commuters complained of intervals of 15 minutes or more between trains going southwards.
The sudden change followed suspension of services to Kavi Subhash, after cracks were spotted in the pillars supporting the up-platform at the terminal station.
While Shahid Khudiram was declared the new end and start point for the southern stretch, operational hitches surfaced. The station does not have the facilities needed for a smooth reversal of rakes, leading to delays.
Metro officials maintained that the overall number of services on the Blue Line has not been reduced. They claimed that 284 trains are being run daily, up from 262 earlier.