RailEnquiry

NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro is rethinking its operational preparedness for launching an evacuation procedure faster after Tuesday's incident in which 1,791 passengers were stuck in a train inside a tunnel for over one-and-a-half hours. DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal told TOI, "The accounts of passengers are being collated by the inquiry committee. After receiving their feedback, we may look at a preparation strategy to respond better to situations like the one encountered on Tuesday." The incident in which passengers panicked and got down from the train and walked on the tracks even as Delhi Metro was attempting to send a rescue train has sent alarm bells ringing. This could have been disastrous, admit Metro officials. Though Metro claims that it did communicate with the passengers about the rescue operation, many passengers who were stuck in the tunnel claimed there were no announcements. The inquiry committee, set up by DMRC chief Mangu Singh, will collate data from different departments—including rolling stock, operations, signalling and electrical—to establish the reason behind the incident. Preliminary reports suggest that the train stopped because of a communication breakdown between coaches caused by a software failure. The rescue operation, which had come in for a lot of flak from the passengers, will also be reviewed. The passengers had also complained about the long delay by Metro in taking action to rectify the problem on Tuesday. Dayal admitted the first 15 minutes after a train stops is devoted to identifying the problem locally with the help of the train operator. The operator communicates with the operational control centre (OCC). Only the train operator is available at the spot. The operator is expected to make announcements about the reason for the malfunction.