New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS)

A signalling cable theft in the Delhi Blue Line Metro Monday caused inordinate delays and overcrowding at stations, said an official.

He said a fact-finding committee has been constituted to investigate the crime.

The Blue Line operates from Dwarka subcity to Noida City Centre/Vaishali terminals.

"The problem occurred due to theft in the signalling cable, measuring around 700 metres connecting the track circuits to the junction box between Pragati Maidan and Mandi House Metro stations on the up line (towards Dwarka)," said the Delhi Metro official.

The problem began at 8 a.m. when the rush of office-goers is at its peak.

The problem forced reduction in the speed of the trains which had to halt for long durations at stations.

"Metro trains going towards Dwarka are moving at a restricted speed of up to 25 km per hour, as automatic target speed is not available to the trains in this affected section," added the official.

Usually, Delhi Metro trains run at speeds exceeding 40 km per hour.

The maintenance work will be taken up at night after the passenger services end.

As a result, crowds swelled at platforms all along the route - one of the busiest in the capital - that links Dwarka on the west edge of Delhi with Noida and Vaishali in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

"The services are so slow the travel time has almost doubled," Monica Sharma, an IT professional travelling from Noida, told IANS.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation inducted three additional trains from Indraprastha to Dwarka to ease the rush during the peak hours.

The Blue Line has 43 stations on its route which pass through some of the most populous areas of the capital. It is the longest line in the Delhi Metro network.