Hundreds of commuters voiced anger and frustration after services on Bengaluru Metro’s Purple Line came to a sudden halt on Tuesday evening due to a technical snag, disrupting travel across the city during peak hours.
While the breakdown itself caused inconvenience, many passengers said the lack of timely communication from the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) made the situation significantly worse.
Thousands stranded across stations
The disruption began around 6.30 pm, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at stations including Majestic Metro Station, MG Road Metro Station, Indiranagar Metro Station, Hoodi Metro Station and KR Puram Metro Station.
“Just pathetic! It is just a train — how hard is it to handle? Got stuck for more than an hour; eventually, my parents had to struggle and get a cab,” wrote commuter Yuvaraj on social media.
Another commuter, Surekha Roy, described the scene at Majestic station, saying passengers were left waiting for nearly 45 minutes without any indication of when services would resume.
Passengers criticise delayed updates
Several commuters expressed frustration over what they described as a lack of standard operating procedures for informing passengers during service disruptions.
According to passengers, BMRCL acknowledged the technical snag on its official social media platforms nearly an hour after services were affected.
“You guys didn’t even announce. It’s been more than an hour since people are stuck,” posted commuter Nilisha Mantri.
Sajith Balagopalan questioned why passengers were not alerted earlier about the delay.
“Passengers should at least be informed when a train is delayed by more than 10 minutes. We waited nearly 40 minutes before an official with a walkie-talkie finally explained what was happening,” he said.
Trapped inside trains
Many passengers reported being stranded inside crowded metro coaches for extended periods.
Sowmya G, who was travelling from Swami Vivekananda Road to Kengeri, said her train stopped at Indiranagar and remained stationary for over an hour before passengers were instructed to leave the station and seek alternative transport.
Another commuter, Aritra Podder Sengupta, said he boarded a train at Hoodi around 6.35 pm and remained stuck at KR Puram before the train eventually halted again between stations.
“We were later asked to get off at Indiranagar as the train would not continue further,” he said.
Long wait causes discomfort
The prolonged delay left passengers tired and uncomfortable, with several complaining about a lack of food, water and information.
“Standing crammed inside a static train for two hours is physically draining,” said commuter Praveen Narayana.
Some passengers also complained about the air-conditioning inside coaches.
“It feels like we’re sitting inside a refrigerator,” one commuter remarked on social media.
Autos and cabs become lifeline
With Metro services suspended, commuters rushed to find alternative modes of transport.
Autorickshaws and cabs quickly became the preferred option, leading to high demand around stations such as MG Road and Indiranagar.
“I got stuck near Nallurhalli and eventually took an auto to reach my destination,” said Manish Kumar Rai.
The disruption also affected intercity travellers. Lingan, who was travelling to Hosur, said he feared missing his connection on the Tuticorin Express due to the delay.
Access restricted at Majestic
To manage overcrowding, authorities restricted entry for Purple Line passengers at Majestic station. Only Green Line commuters were allowed access, while the connecting passage between the Metro station and Majestic Bus Stand was temporarily closed for Purple Line users.
Many passengers opted to travel part of the way on the Green Line before switching to autos or cabs to complete their journeys.
Chaos fuels social media content
Despite the inconvenience, several commuters turned the disruption into social media content, posting videos and reels from platforms and train coaches.
Captions such as “Metro stopped? Time for content” and “No Bangalore day is complete without drama” reflected the mix of frustration and humour that characterised the evening’s chaos.
Questions over reliability
The incident has once again raised concerns about the reliability of Bengaluru Metro’s busiest corridor and the need for stronger passenger communication systems during emergencies. Commuters have called on BMRCL to improve real-time updates, station announcements and contingency planning to minimise inconvenience during future disruptions.