Power Failure Halts Kolkata Metro Services on Dakshineswar–Shahid Khudiram Line

Kolkata Metro services on the critical Dakshineswar to Shahid Khudiram corridor suffered a major disruption during the peak morning rush hour on Tuesday, leaving thousands of daily passengers severely inconvenienced. A sudden power supply failure brought train operations to a standstill for close to an hour, compounding the usual crowding and time pressure faced by office-goers, students, and other regular users of one of the city’s busiest underground and elevated rail sections.

The technical malfunction occurred inside a moving train travelling between Netaji Bhavan and Rabindra Sadan stations, two prominent stops in the central business district area. Metro railway officials explained that the power glitch caused the train to lose traction and come to an abrupt halt in the tunnel section, triggering an immediate suspension of services on the entire affected stretch to ensure passenger safety and prevent any potential chain-reaction incidents involving following trains.

Responding swiftly to the emergency, Metro staff and security personnel coordinated a safe evacuation of all passengers stranded inside the immobilised train. Individuals were guided step by step out of the coaches and escorted carefully along the track to the nearest accessible platform at Netaji Bhavan station. The operation was completed without any reported injuries, panic, or medical emergencies, reflecting the effectiveness of the railway’s standard emergency response procedures in such situations.

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Full services on the Dakshineswar–Shahid Khudiram line were restored by 8:46 am, allowing normal train frequency and passenger flow to resume after the prolonged interruption. Metro authorities confirmed that the brief outage did not result in any structural damage to the tracks, signalling systems, or rolling stock beyond the initial power-related fault. Commuters who had been delayed began reaching their destinations with some relief as the network returned to regular operations.

The incident once again highlights the critical dependence of urban mass transit systems on uninterrupted power supply, especially during high-demand periods when even short disruptions can create widespread ripple effects across the city. Metro railway engineers have launched a thorough technical investigation into the exact cause of the power failure, examining onboard equipment, overhead lines, and substation performance. Preventive maintenance checks and contingency planning are expected to be strengthened to reduce the chances of similar glitches affecting commuter convenience in the future.

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