First phase of East-West Metro to be inaugurated soon

Kolkata: The first phase of the East-West Metro, stretching five kilometres between Salt Lake Sector V and Salt Lake Stadium, is expected to be soon inaugurated as the final trial runs are almost over.

While the three-day trial services started on Tuesday, the signaling system and the alignment of the Platform Screen Gates (PSGs) functioned perfectly. The independent trial run was conducted in the last week of August.

"The final date of inauguration has not been decided yet. Let the trials be over and then we will finalise the East-West Metro first phase inauguration date," said Kolkata Metro Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Indrani Banerjee.

According to sources, five rakes are being prepared for commercial run. The first phase of the East-West Metro stretch includes Salt Lake Sector V station, Karunamoyee station, Central Park station, City Centre station, Bengal Chemical station and Salt Lake Stadium station.

The Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Limited (KMRCL) is implementing the East-West Metro project from Salt Lake Sector V to Howrah Maidan, covering a distance of 16.5 kilometres.

According to sources, the KMRCL is expected to submit the report in connection with the operations of the trains to the Kolkata Metro Railway. Once the report is submitted, the Kolkata Metro Railway will send it to the Railway Board, the apex body of the Indian Railways. The final date of inauguration will be decided by the Railway Board.

The second phase will see commercial run up to Phoolbagan, which is expected to start by the end of this year. It may be mentioned that the path of the East-West Metro will be over ground from Salt Lake Sector V till Subhas Sarobar station and then will go underground. In the entire stretch, around 520 metres of tunneling has been done underneath river Hooghly. The tunnel boring work stopped as the buildings in Bowbazar area developed structural damages following subsidence on August 31.

The first phase of the East-West corridor of Kolkata Metro was earlier scheduled to see its inauguration in 2012. Due to land acquisition issues, slum relocation and route alignment, the construction work got delayed.

The East-West Metro trains run on more advanced technology where the driver's role is minimal.

The north-south section still has non-AC rakes and air-conditioned ones built by the Railways-owned Integral Coach Factory in Perambore near Chennai.