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Bengal

East-West Metro line to pause ops for 8 days

Kolkata: Services on the entire East-West Metro corridor (Green Line) will be suspended for eight days this February, the Kolkata Metro Railway authorities announced. This suspension will facilitate testing of the Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) System along the 16.6-kilometer stretch between Howrah Maidan and Salt Lake Sector V.

The traffic block will be carried out in two phases, each lasting four days, including Saturdays and Sundays. The first phase is scheduled from February 13 to February 16, with the second phase following from February 20 to February 23.

This decision comes after the successful completion of tunnelling work between Esplanade and Sealdah stations. Running through Bowbazar, the 2.63 km stretch connecting Esplanade and Sealdah encountered significant construction challenges, including frequent water seepage and soil subsidence.

The first major setback occurred on August 31, 2019, when a tunnel boring machine punctured a sand aquifer in Bowbazar, resulting in substantial damage and the evacuation of over 700 residents. Further subsidence incidents were reported on May 11, 2022 and October 14, 2022.

After more than five years of intense work, including advanced retrofitting, geo-stabilisation and modern track fitting, the track work in the west-bound tunnel was completed by Christmas 2024. CBTC system integration began on January 12, 2025, with the first trial run on the Sealdah-Esplanade stretch through the west-bound tunnel on January 21.

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