‘Howrah Maidan-Esplanade Metro route to be commissioned by Dec’

KOLKATA: Metro Railway General Manager (GM) Arun Arora on Tuesday said that the Howrah Maidan to Esplanade metro line, which is part of the East-West Metro corridor will “definitely get commissioned by December 2023”.

“It is a 2.5-kilometre section between Esplanade and Sealdah, out of which 1.5 kilometre has already been constructed. Work on only a one-kilometre stretch is left and out of that one-kilometre, 800 metres is the challenge. If this 800 metre is done the Howrah Maidan will be connected with Sealdah by December this year,” Arora said.

Arora added that if the authorities are unable to overcome the challenges faced between the Esplanade and Sealdah Metro line, which is part of the East-West corridor, then alternative options like shuttle services may be used.

“There could be shuttle service, there could be electric vehicles between the two stations just to bridge it. We will be working on that as well,” Arora said.

However, according to the Metro Railway, there is a hundred per cent surety that Howrah Maidan to Esplanade will be commissioned by the end of this year.

On the question of whether the route between Esplanade and Sealdah may change because of the constraint, Arora said: “We have already crossed the bridge, we cannot

go back now.”