Glitch in overhead power lines repeatedly disrupts metro rail services

After getting disrupted on Monday, the Metro rail services came to a halt for a couple of hours again yesterday morning, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded at stations during rush hour.

On both occasions, power supply to the locomotive through the Overhead Catenary System was disrupted as objects got stuck on the overhead wires, said sources. 

Nasir Uddin Ahmed, director (operation and maintenance) of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd, said, "We are currently facing an issue with the Overhead Catenary System. Preliminary indications suggest a possible intrusion that led to an interruption in the electricity supply required for the trains to operate."

Experts have expressed their frustration regarding the Dhaka Metro rail's Overhead Catenary System, which is a backdated and risky method of supplying power to locomotives. To avoid problems and ensure uninterrupted power supply to the trains, most of the developed countries have abandoned overhead wires and adopted new methods of supplying electricity.  

Professor Dr Shamsul Hoque, director of Accident Research Institute of Buet, told TBS, "Century-old Overhead Catenary technology is not suitable for a densely populated city like Dhaka at all. In recent times, no country in the world – except Indonesia and Bangladesh – has used this technology."

For example, construction of the Metro Rail in Lahore, Pakistan began in 2015, and started operating in October 2020. The 27 km metro rail uses "Third-line Technology" instead of the Overhead Catenary System. In that system, a third line is constructed parallel to the metro rail lines to supply power without setting up overhead electricity lines, he said.

The professor also said, "I objected to the Overhead Catenary System technology when the plan for the metro rail was being prepared. I said, in a densely populated city like Dhaka, many things can fall on the wires from tall buildings on both sides of them.

"Even during a nor'wester, many things including polythene can fall on the power lines. The Overhead Catenary System in such a city can create many problems for the metro rail."

Yesterday, the metro rail service resumed at around 12pm, after remaining halted for around two and a half hours.

The unexpected closure of the services led to a huge crowd of stranded passengers at the metro rail stations.

Frustration rippled through the crowd as many queued at ticket counters, only to find that ticket sales were temporarily stopped. 

Many of the passengers who already bought tickets before the problem occurred returned their tickets and left for their destinations by alternative means. 

Consequently, there was a pressure on alternative vehicles such as buses, ride-sharing services, and CNG auto-rickshaws in the station areas. Many office-bound commuters faced severe problems to reach their destinations on time due to the transportation crisis.

Rafiqul Islam, a commuter, said, "I work in a market in Uttara. I go to work every day by the metro rail from my residence near Agargaon. When I came to the station today (Wednesday), I found a huge crowd and a closed ticket counter. 

"When I asked about the reason, guards told me that there was a technical glitch. Since then, I have waited for over an hour. Many people have left by other vehicles as they had to reach their offices on time. "

Another commuter, Azmal Hossain, said, "I have to go to Uttara to visit a client at 11am. Nobody has any clue when the train service will resume. So I am leaving on a bike." 

Two days earlier, on Monday morning, the metro rail was delayed by 40 minutes due to a technical glitch. 

Earlier, on 20 February this year the metro rail service was halted partially as a kite reportedly got stuck to one of its electric poles.

Following the incident, the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd requested residents and guardians, living within one kilometre on either side of the metro rail line from Uttara to Agargaon, to prevent children from flying kites, lanterns or gas balloons.