A fire at a power station in Gurugram halted Rapid Metro services and caused a major power outage across parts of the city.
The incident highlights the vulnerability of the city's transit infrastructure to localized power failures, as thousands of commuters were left stranded during the blackout.
An oil leak in a transformer triggered the fire at a 220 kV [1] power station located in Sector 72 [6]. The resulting explosion caused a grid collapse that impacted the wider region, leaving seven power houses non-functional [5].
The power failure brought Rapid Metro trains to a sudden stop. Because the outage lasted for over one hour [3], passengers were forced to evacuate the trains and walk along the tracks to reach the nearest stations.
Reports indicate that thousands of commuters [4] were affected by the disruption. The outage disrupted both the transit system and general electricity supply in several sectors of Gurugram, Haryana.
Emergency services responded to the transformer blast to contain the fire and prevent further damage to the grid. Services were eventually restored after the technical fault was addressed and power was rerouted to the metro lines.
“thousands of commuters were left stranded during the blackout”
This event underscores the critical dependency of Gurugram's automated transit systems on a stable power grid. When a single point of failure, such as a transformer in Sector 72, causes a systemic collapse, the lack of immediate redundant power for the Rapid Metro creates significant public safety risks, as evidenced by passengers walking on active rail tracks.
