Tremors halt Delhi Metro; resumes slowly as trains shed pace

New Delhi: Trains across the Delhi Metro corridor on Monday came to a screeching halt as soon as tremors struck the national capital and services were resumed after 15 minutes, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

Even after the services were resumed, trains ran at a very slow pace and it took long for normal operations to be restored as a comprehensive safety check was undertaken.

"Metro services were put on hold from 2.40 PM to 2.55 PM in view of the earthquake. Thereafter, train services were brought to normal routine after ensuring safety check of the structures," a senior DMRC official said.

The official said that train services stopped as per standard procedure and that extensive safety check was part of the same.

"We looked for possible derailments or damages to station structures. Every major component was looked at," the official said.

Nearly 27 lakh passengers avail metro services daily which connect several pockets of Delhi with major NCR settlements such as Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad.

The earthquake epicentre in the Hindukush mountain range in Afghanistan struck at around 2.40 PM, sending ripples across several states like Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, the National Capital Region (NCR), Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.