Mumbai’s underground Aqua line (metro line 3) faced two major technical disruptions on Friday, leading to temporary suspension of services during peak hours and causing significant inconvenience to commuters across the corridor.
The first disruption occurred around 8:30 am, during the morning rush hour, when the signalling and telecommunication system of Mumbai Metro 3 malfunctioned across the entire km route.
According to an official from the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), the issue originated from the Operations Control Centre (OCC) and affected train operations on both corridors of the Aqua Line.
The technical failure brought metro services to a complete halt for nearly an hour. Although services resumed later in the morning, trains continued to run behind schedule, affecting passenger movement throughout the day.
Rajan Mathew, a passenger travelling on the route, posted on X that services between Hutatma Chowk and Cuffe Parade were delayed during the morning hours, adding that he had been looking forward to using Mumbai Metro 3 for inner-city travel.
Another commuter, Arjun Sharma, posted, “Today Mumbai Metro 3 has a technical issue since the last 15 minutes but nobody knows what kind of technical issue.”
The metro line suffered a similar issue again later in the day when the same technical issue resurfaced around 1:30 pm. Services on the entire stretch from Aarey JVLR to Cuffe Parade were suspended initially.
Approximately 30 minutes later, operations partially resumed between Aarey JVLR and Bandra Kurla Complex before services on the full route were gradually restored. However, delays continued even after normal operations resumed.
Lawyer-activist of Watchdog Foundation, Godfrey Pimenta, in an open complaint to MMRC wrote, “It is shocking and deeply concerning that a Metro line which commenced operations barely about a year ago is already facing such operational disruptions. Such incidents raise serious concerns regarding the reliability, maintenance, safety standards, and preparedness of the system.”
