Choked AC pipe leads to water leakage in Metro coach

Pune: Choked drain pipe of the air-conditioning system in a Metro rake led to water leakage in a coach around 6.40pm on Thursday after the train departed from Ramwadi for Vanaz.The video of water leakage in the Metro coach was widely circulated on various social media platforms on Saturday with a claim that Friday afternoon’s heavy rain triggered the leakage. Maha Metro officials issued a clarification stating that malfunctioning of the AC’s condensation system caused the leakage, and that it had no connection with Friday’s heavy downpour.Chandrashekhar Tambhavekar, the head of Maha Metro’s public relations department, said, “The videos in circulation with the claim that there was seepage in the Metro coach during Friday’s rain is incorrect. There was seepage in a train after it departed from Ramwadi on Thursday evening. The train was stopped at the next station after the seepage was detected and staffers attended to the problem. It left for Vanaz after cleaning was done. A directive has been issued to check the functioning of air-conditioning in the particular rake and conduct inspections of other rakes.”Commuters said the Metro administration should go for regular maintenance of all the passenger-centric systems. Vishal Shinde, a frequent traveller on Ramwadi-Vanaz route, said regular checks could prevent water leakages. “The leakage occurred during rush hour. Viral video shows that the train was full. The passenger services should be world class,” Shinde said.The Metro’s daily average footfall has been around two lakh for the past two months. Among other improvements, commuters want better internet connectivity on Metro’s underground stretches and stations. Improvement in the last mile connectivity is another demand.Tickets on Uber appUber has announced the launch of Metro ticketing facility on its app to enable commuters to purchase tickets without waiting in queues. Pune is the fifth city after Delhi, Mumbai, Benguluru and Chennai to have Metro ticketing facility on the Uber app.