New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS): Metro services on the Blue Line of Delhi Metro were severely hit on Tuesday due to a technical snag at the Mandi House station, causing major inconvenience to commuters.

Metro officials said the trains between Pragati Maidan and Mandi House stations were run at a reduced speed for maintenance work. 

"A speed restriction of 20 km per hour has been imposed since 11.20 a.m. between the two stations," the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a statement. 

This resulted in a cascading effect on the whole line, especially towards Noida and Vaishali, leading to overcrowded trains and piling up of commuters at platforms of several stations.

DMRC said the delay in metro operations was due to an OverHead Electrification (OHE) problem in the section near Mandi House, which was being addressed.

Operations on all other lines including the Violet Line, which intersects Blue Line at Mandi House station, were unaffected, a metro official told IANS.

The snag caused unremitting pain to thousands of commuters.

"There was a big spark in the overhead wire at Mandi House station in the morning. I saw it," a passenger said.

A similar snag occurred on December 25 owing to some repair work between Indraprastha and Yamuna Bank stations of the Blue Line, disrupting train operations for more than three hours that day.