A technical snag on Bengaluru Metro’s Purple Line during Tuesday evening’s peak hours led to widespread disruption across the city, forcing thousands of commuters to scramble for alternative modes of transport. The disruption, which occurred around 6:30 pm near Cubbon Park Metro Station, affected one of Bengaluru’s busiest metro corridors connecting key parts of the city, including the IT hub of Whitefield. The breakdown brought train services to a halt initially, leaving passengers stranded at multiple stations and resulting in long queues.
As the situation worsened, several commuters were seen hitching rides on lorries and trucks to reach their destinations. Videos showing office-goers and other passengers travelling in goods vehicles quickly went viral on social media, highlighting the scale of the disruption.
With metro services suspended and roads witnessing a sudden surge in demand, cab aggregators and auto-rickshaw services were overwhelmed. Many commuters struggled to secure transport, leading to heavy congestion and confusion across several parts of the city.
The incident also triggered a political row, with Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya criticising the Karnataka government over the city’s infrastructure challenges.
Reacting to the disruption, Surya said Bengaluru represented a case of “first-world tech talent and third-world governance”. He alleged that metro disruptions had become increasingly frequent and argued that every major breakdown pushed the city into chaos. “Yesterday, hardworking professionals in India’s Silicon Valley were forced to hitch rides on trucks and lorries just to get home after work. They will wake up tomorrow, go back to office, pay their taxes, and endure the same broken system all over again,” he said in a post on X.
According to Bengaluru Metro authorities, the disruption was caused by a technical fault in a train operating on the Purple Line. Partial services were later restored between MG Road and Whitefield, though overcrowding and delays continued through the evening.
Officials said repair work continued overnight and the fault was fully rectified by 5 am on Wednesday. Normal services on the Purple Line have since resumed.
The incident has once again raised concerns over Bengaluru’s transport infrastructure, with commuters questioning the reliability of the metro network, particularly during peak travel hours.