Final check done for E-W Metro's Esplanade-Sealdah stretch
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Kolkata: The East-West Metro's last 2.6-km leg underwent the mandatory inspection by the
Commission of Railway Safety
(CRS) on Sunday. This is the most critical stretch of the corridor, passing through the subsidence-hit Bowbazar area of central Kolkata. The commercial launch of the section will allow operations of the entire 16.6 km East-West Metro, finally.
"Once the formal sanction comes from the CRS, the entire 16.6 km of the Green Line can be launched. Passengers will be able to travel from Sector V to Howrah Maidan, via the Hooghly, at last," a spokesperson of Metro Railway, which runs the city's rapid transit network, said.
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The CRS, under the ministry of civil aviation, gives the approval for commercial operations for any new metro line in India. Sumeet Singhal, Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), North Frontier Circle, started his inspections around 9 am on Sunday. Later, he took a train ride from Mahakaran metro station to Central Park station in Salt Lake.
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At Esplanade metro station, the CRS took stock of the sub-systems—tracks, tunnel, tunnel ventilation, train, emergency response features of metro train operations, and all parameters required for passenger safety.
East-West Metro now runs in two disjointed sections—the 9.2 km Sector V-Sealdah and 4.8 km Esplanade-Howrah Maidan. KMRC skipped the 2.6 km
Esplanade-Sealdah stretch
and opened Phase II or the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade (via river Hooghly) section in March 2024 because work along the stretch was replete with challenges posed by the porous soil.
At Esplanade metro station, Singhal checked the air-conditioning and fire-fighting systems and other safety features. He then travelled on a trolley across the eastward and westward tunnels to inspect the cross-passages, tunnel curves, and the egress shaft at Bowbazar's Durga Pituri Lane. Between 2 pm and 3.30 pm, Singhal took a train ride between Mahakaran and Central Park metro stations. Speed trials were conducted with the train running at 80 kmph. The inspection ended at 5.30 pm.
"The CRS expressed satisfaction on the readiness of the newly completed section," the metro spokesperson said. Anuj Mittal, MD,
Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation
(KMRC), the implementing agency of the Rs 10,000 crore East-West Metro, and other Metro Railway and KMRC officials accompanied the CRS.
Ever since PM Narendra Modi launched the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section in March last year, empty rakes were transported to the Salt Lake maintenance depot through the more-complete eastbound (Sector V-bound) tunnel. The CRS's inspection planned earlier this month was deferred because the eastward tunnel was still getting the final touches.
Kolkata: The East-West Metro's last 2.6-km leg underwent the mandatory inspection by the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) on Sunday. This is the most critical stretch of the corridor, passing through the subsidence-hit Bowbazar area of central Kolkata. The commercial launch of the section will allow operations of the entire 16.6 km East-West Metro, finally.
"Once the formal sanction comes from the CRS, the entire 16.6 km of the Green Line can be launched. Passengers will be able to travel from Sector V to Howrah Maidan, via the Hooghly, at last," a spokesperson of Metro Railway, which runs the city's rapid transit network, said.
The CRS, under the ministry of civil aviation, gives the approval for commercial operations for any new metro line in India. Sumeet Singhal, Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), North Frontier Circle, started his inspections around 9 am on Sunday. Later, he took a train ride from Mahakaran metro station to Central Park station in Salt Lake.
At Esplanade metro station, the CRS took stock of the sub-systems—tracks, tunnel, tunnel ventilation, train, emergency response features of metro train operations, and all parameters required for passenger safety.
East-West Metro now runs in two disjointed sections—the 9.2 km Sector V-Sealdah and 4.8 km Esplanade-Howrah Maidan. KMRC skipped the 2.6 km Esplanade-Sealdah stretch and opened Phase II or the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade (via river Hooghly) section in March 2024 because work along the stretch was replete with challenges posed by the porous soil.
At Esplanade metro station, Singhal checked the air-conditioning and fire-fighting systems and other safety features. He then travelled on a trolley across the eastward and westward tunnels to inspect the cross-passages, tunnel curves, and the egress shaft at Bowbazar's Durga Pituri Lane. Between 2 pm and 3.30 pm, Singhal took a train ride between Mahakaran and Central Park metro stations. Speed trials were conducted with the train running at 80 kmph. The inspection ended at 5.30 pm.
"The CRS expressed satisfaction on the readiness of the newly completed section," the metro spokesperson said. Anuj Mittal, MD, Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), the implementing agency of the Rs 10,000 crore East-West Metro, and other Metro Railway and KMRC officials accompanied the CRS.
Ever since PM Narendra Modi launched the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section in March last year, empty rakes were transported to the Salt Lake maintenance depot through the more-complete eastbound (Sector V-bound) tunnel. The CRS's inspection planned earlier this month was deferred because the eastward tunnel was still getting the final touches.
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