KMRCL expects to commission Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch by Dec end

The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) is expecting to commission the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch of East-West Metro Corridor by the end of December this year. The services will be provided at an interval of 12 minutes.

The KMRCL is planning to commission the rest from Esplanade to Sealdah by June 2024. Once this stretch is completed, Howrah Maidan will get connected to Salt Lake Sector V. This will be an important Metro route in the city as it will cater to passengers from both Howrah and Sealdah Railway Stations.

“We will start the commercial services in this part in a truncated manner. It will give us some indication of the traffic coming in this route so that we can plan the future frequency and other things accordingly,” KMRCL Managing Director V K Srivastava said.

With regards to construction of houses which were damaged, the KMRCL is planning to start the work from April 2024 and plans to complete the rehabilitation by December 2025.

Meanwhile, Srivastava said they have approached the Railway Board to bear the full cost of the construction of the Metro from Salt Lake Sector V to Haldiram as the state, citing fund constraints, expressed its inability to share the cost.

Srivastava remarked that the project will cost Rs 2,365 crore. It will be 6.5 kilometres, of which 1.5 kilometres will be underground and the rest will be viaduct.