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Time of India
7 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Kavi Subhash stn to be razed, truncated N-S Metro services for at least a year
Kolkata: Commuters may have to wait an entire year to use Kavi Subhash metro station, the terminal station of the North-South Blue Line, which is also the city's lifeline. Metro Railway has decided to demolish the station and rebuild it after cracks appeared on its columns, which were found to be beyond repair. "We have already started the razing work. Workers have been assigned to dismantle parts of the station – the signal and telecom (ST) equipment and so on," a senior official of Metro Railway said on Tuesday, a day after the station was shut down and metro services terminated at Sahid Khudiram. When asked to comment, Metro Railway general manager P Uday Kumar Reddy said: "The station's piers or columns on which the platform stands have weakened beyond repair. If the pillars are to be dismantled, how can the station remain? The entire Kavi Subhash station will have to be rebuilt." You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata The general manager added that Metro Railway has been planning to rectify the constructional defects of Kavi Subhash station for some time now. "We have invited tenders from contractors who can do the restoration work. We would have started after Durga Puja. But now, we are suddenly faced with an emergency situation with the heavy downpour that seemed to have led to some ground subsidence. Therefore, the work has to be taken up without further delay. " The Officials confirmed that this was the first time in the history of Kolkata Metro that a station was being dismantled and rebuilt. "All the other 25 stations of the 40-year-old North-South line, extended in various phases to Kavi Subhash in the south and Dakshineswar on the northern fringes, are in good shape," an official said. The 32km Blue Line's southern extension happened in two phases in 2009-10, first between the then terminal Tollygunge or Uttam Kumar metro station to Garia Bazar (Kavi Nazrul) and then to New Garia (Kavi Subhash). The final section in the southern end was opened in Oct 2010. "Over the last four decades, the corridor has remained the city's transportation lifeline, ferrying around 6 lakh passengers every day, but no other station's design has been as flawed as the terminal Kavi Subhash station. The station's overhaul has been long overdue because the authorities have been aware of the structural issues," said Subhasis Sengupta, vice-president, the INTTUC-affiliated Metro Railway Progotisil Shramik Karmachari Union. Metro officials said the process of inviting bids for rebuilding Kavi Subhash station is underway. "We were a bit unprepared for what happened yesterday. Different kinds of planning are going on. Our utmost priority is passenger safety and security. We shall also try our best to get the work completed as quickly as possible, so that operations can be resumed at Kavi Subhash station," the Metro GM said. He said the station would be opened to the public as soon as the rebuilt station was in a position to run trains safely. The superficial and architectural works can continue even after the station has started functioning, an official said.
Time of India
2 days ago
- General
- Time of India
New Garia Metro station closed after cracks found in pillars
1 2 Kolkata: The North-South Metro's terminal Kavi Subhas station at New Garia was closed temporarily after cracks were discovered in the last four pillars on which the Up platform stands. All trains are now being terminated at Shahid Khudiram, the elevated metro station at Dhalai Bridge in Garia. It is the second last metro station on the city's southern fringes. Metro Railway workers spotted the cracks in the pillars on Monday morning and alerted their supervisors, following which inspections were conducted. "Around 12.45 pm, the metro station's services were suspended. Preliminary investigations suggest ground subsidence due to the heavy downpour over the past few days. The uneven ground settlement seemed to have caused cracks on the four piers on the Up platform at Kavi Subhas station. As a measure of precaution and to ensure the safety of passengers, services to and from Kavi Subhas station have been withdrawn. We are trying to resume operations from the terminal station as soon as possible," a metro spokesperson said, adding, "Train services on the Blue Line will operate between Shahid Khudiram and Dakshineswar in both Up and Down directions till further notice. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Indonesia: Unsold Sofas at Bargain Prices (Prices May Surprise You) Sofas | Search Ads Search Now Undo The damage is being assessed. Necessary repair and rehabilitation work will be taken up in a planned manner immediately." Empty rakes will continue to run up to Kavi Subhas station for reversal and maintenance at the depot with the terminal complex. Kavi Subhas is also the terminal station for the Orange Line or the New Garia-Airport corridor. The pillars on which the elevated Orange Line station stands are relatively new. Trains operated normally on this line. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Passengers like Moumita Sarkar, who lives in New Garia, were taken aback on Monday afternoon when she tried taking the afternoon metro from Kavi Subhas to her workplace in were erratic on the North-South line throughout the day. "I sensed something amiss as the digital signboards for the next train's timing went blank and trains arrived late," said Dipti Raut, a passenger at Park Street station. Officials confirmed this was the first time since the North-South Line's southern extension (in two phases in 2009-10) to New Garia from Tollygunge that a metro station was closed. "The design of the elevated section from Tollygunge to Kavi Subhas is flawed. The pier strengthening work was supposed to start long ago. But Metro Railway authorities have sat on inviting bids and initiating the repair work," said Subhasis Sengupta, vice-president, INTTUC-affiliated Metro Railway Progotisil Shramik Karmachari Union.
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Union asks for more rakes, personnel for Purple, Orange Lines
Kolkata: The Pragatisil Sramik Karmachari Union has urged Metro Railway to add rakes and traffic personnel for the Purple and Orange lines, which are set to extend operations now that they are equipped with the advanced signalling system. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On behalf of the INTTUC-affiliated Metro workers' union, general secretary Samir Bera wrote to Metro's chief operations manager. With no fresh recruitment and staff members continuously being transferred out of the North-South (Blue) line, the situation is worse for the truncated Purple (Joka-Majerhat) and Orange (New Garia-Ruby) lines. "The launch of the Yellow Line and the Green Line's last leg is imminent. We welcome the opening of new lines. Unfortunately, the workforce is dragged from the Blue Line, which is already reeling under an acute staff shortage," wrote Bera. Union vice-president Subhasis Sengupta said, "So many extensions but there aren't enough rakes, motormen, or traffic personnel to operate them." In a report titled "Lone rake pulls Purple Line ops, normal services from today", TOI highlighted the rake and manpower personnel issues. Until April, the Purple line offered 18 services at 50-minute intervals. Following the signalling upgrade, 44 services were added from May 9, and the six-hour services doubled. However, a single rake continued to run up and down the 8-km corridor, while another remained on standby.
