Thaindian News

Kolkata, Oct 21 (IANS) Crowds of commuters on the Kolkata Metro thinned Thursday, a day after two of its coaches derailed near the Central Station.

“The rush at Metro stations was much less. I feel yesterday’s incident has triggered a fear psychosis among passengers,” said Gargi Adhikary, who takes the Metro from Dum Dum to Chandni Chowk daily.

More than six lakh commuters use the Kolkata Metro every day.

Two coaches of the Metro derailed Wednesday when the Kavi Subhas-bound train developed a snag while entering the Central Station. The passengers were evacuated through an emergency exit, and no one was injured.

“The trains were quite empty today. During other mornings, coaches are fully packed,” said Subhojit Banerjee, a college-goer who travels by the Metro every day.

Some commuters, however, were relieved at the reduced rush.

“Today’s ride was quite comfortable. Most of the days, I miss the first train after reaching Dum Dum at around 11 a.m. due to heavy rush, but today things were different. I even got a seat,” said Pradip Sarkar, a regular Metro commuter.

Kolkata Metro officials, however, denied anything was amiss.

“The passenger rush at Metro stations is normal, as on other days,” a spokesperson maintained.

This was the first derailment of the Kolkata Metro, the country’s first underground railway system.

The Metro service commenced in October 1984, with the full stretch (Dum Dum to Tollygunge) becoming operational by February 1995. It completed 25 years of operations last year.

Recently, the line was extended up to Kavi Subhas in the south Kolkata, covering a total of 25 km.

The Metro has faced frequent disruptions and technical snags after the recent extension of its services.