Kolkata: The East-West Metro corridor may face a suspension for eight days in February, though no official announcement has been made yet by the Kolkata Metro Railway authorities.
The implementing agency, Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), had previously proposed a 45-day closure from February 8 to March 24 to install unified signal and telecommunication (S&T) software and hardware across the entire 16.6 km corridor. The Metro Railway authorities are yet to decide on this proposal.
To ensure smooth public transport operations during any potential closure of the corridor, which ferries around a lakh passengers everyday, the state Transport department convened a meeting on Wednesday with 12 organisations representing bus, minibus, taxi, and app-cab, app-bike operators. Sources revealed that Metro Railway representatives informed the meeting that services on the East-West corridor might be suspended from February 13-16 and February 22-25, a total of eight days, commencing after the conclusion of the International Kolkata Book Fair.
A Transport department official stated that the meeting resolved to augment bus services on the Howrah-Esplanade route and between Sealdah and Salt Lake Sector V. To accommodate commuters travelling between Sealdah and Salt Lake Sector V, consideration is being given to increasing the number of buses from Ultadanga, enabling passengers to access these services after reaching Bidhannagar Road station from Sealdah via train.
While the Metro Railway authorities have not officially announced the closure, they have indicated that it
is under consideration.