Purple Line Metro Services Delayed After Door Malfunction at Cubbon Park Station

On Thursday evening, Namma Metro services on the Purple Line were temporarily halted at Cubbon Park metro station in Bengaluru after a train's doors failed to close properly. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) was forced to deboard commuters as a safety measure, causing delays that impacted passengers during peak hours.

The technical glitch occurred at approximately 7:36 PM. According to BMRCL, the safety procedure of deboarding passengers took about 17 minutes to complete. This delay affected five subsequent train services on the Purple Line before the Operations and Maintenance teams rectified the issue and restored normal operations.

The disruption led to heavy crowding at several stations along the line. Namma Metro staff, assisted by police personnel, worked to manage and clear crowds at multiple key stations, including Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, Central College, Majestic, and the Railway Station metro stations.

This incident marked the second service disruption on the Purple Line within the same week. Earlier on Tuesday evening, a separate technical glitch had halted metro operations, which were only fully resumed on Wednesday morning. The Purple Line is a crucial transit route in Bengaluru, catering to approximately 4.5 lakh of the city's 9 to 10 lakh daily metro commuters. An investigation into Thursday's door malfunction is currently underway.

Bengaluru (South) MP Tejasvi Surya, who was travelling on the Purple Line on Thursday evening and missed the disruption by a few minutes, expressed concern over the repeated incidents. Surya stated that he has written to the Commissioner of Railway Safety to request an audit into the metro's frequent disruptions, noting that this was reportedly the 21st service disruption since January 2024. He called on BMRCL to explain the recurring issues, publicise the root causes, and outline corrective measures.