By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter www.gulfnews.comÂ
Dubai: Passengers using the Dubai Metro once again faced delays yesterday following a disruption, which was not explained by the Metro operators.
However, what frustrated the passengers the most were confusing announcements made inside the trains and by ill-informed staff at the stations.
Metro operations remained suspended once again for around 50 minutes after 12:15pm on Sunday and then around 3pm while passengers wondered what had happened.
“I waited at Khalid Bin Al Waleed Metro Station for about 45 minutes and the train did not arrive,” said Sahar Ali, a commuter.
She added that there was no public announcement and a staff member also failed to answer when asked why the trains were stopped.
“The train will come soon,” was the answer given to her by the staff member when she inquired about long train delays.
She added that there was a huge crowd at the station waiting for the train.
Technical issues
A Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) spokesperson said that technical issues were behind the slight disruptions.
“We are preparing to add more trains with the opening of new stations from April 30,” said Peyman Younes Parham, director of marketing and communication at the RTA.
“Techical issues are being sorted out, especially regarding the train headways and waiting time of passengers and this has led to some delays. It is quite normal when you add more services on a running track.”
Another passenger told Gulf News that the disruption resulted in him getting to work late.
“It was quite [a] confusing situation. As we reached Khalid Bin Al Waleed Station, it was announced in the train that all passengers must disembark as the train terminated here,” he said.
“Passengers started disembarking the train [but] a staff member at the station started shouting [and telling] the passengers to go back [into] the train as the announcement inside the train was wrong.”
Many passengers said commuters should be updated regularly about the status of trains and delays to enable them to make other arrangements in time.
