Passengers at the Pune Railway metro station experienced long queues and delays on Wednesday morning after the baggage screening system temporarily malfunctioned. The technical failure occurred during the morning peak hour, forcing security staff to manually manage passenger entry and leading to overcrowding at the station entrance.
The unexpected delay caused significant frustration among daily commuters and office-goers. Many passengers expressed annoyance over the lack of timely updates and alleged unhelpful behavior from on-duty security personnel. Commuter Vikas K noted that the luggage scanner was out of service and reported that security staff responded arrogantly instead of assisting passengers. Another commuter, Shailesh Kshirsagar, highlighted that the queue grew rapidly, leaving many concerned about arriving late to work and emphasizing the need for immediate technical support during peak travel times.
Addressing the issue, Chandrashekhar Tambavekar, AGM of Administration and Public Relations at Pune Metro, explained that the scanner shut down due to overheating. He stated that the machine was turned off for about 10 minutes as a safety precaution to allow it to cool down before normal operations resumed, adding that the authority regrets the inconvenience caused to passengers.
While passenger screening was temporarily delayed, metro train services continued to run according to schedule. Station entry returned to normal once the baggage scanner was restarted. However, the incident highlighted the critical need for reliable equipment maintenance to prevent congestion and manage heavy commuter traffic during peak hours.
