East-West Metro corridor's Phoolbagan station to be inaugurated today

Kolkata: Making the journey more convenient, the East-West Metro corridor's Phoolbagan station is all set to be inaugurated on Sunday. The move ahead of the Durga Puja comes at a crucial time as pandal-hoppers prefer the Metro as the preferred mode of commutation to visit different parts of the city.

The virtual inauguration of the Phoolbagan Metro Station will be done on Sunday. However, the commercial services from Phoolbagan will start on Monday.

According to sources, Union Railway minister Piyush Goyal will flag off the Phoolbagan Metro Station via video conferencing at 3 pm on October 4, 2020.

"Phoolbagan Metro Station is the East-West Metro's first underground station. There will be no passengers at the station at the time of inauguration on Sunday. There will be motormen and a few Metro staff," said an official.

He reiterated that this Metro station holds a notable place in the city's map as it is Kolkata's first underground station in 26 years.

Unlike the North-South line, commuters in this Metro corridor will not need an e-pass to board a train. A total of 48 services will be operated at an interval of 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, traffic movement on Sealdah flyover has been suspended from 6 am on October 2 to 6 am on October 5 for the purpose of construction of underground passage using a tunnel boring machine (TBM) by the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) — the implementing agency of East-West Metro.

The East-West Metro corridor, which will connect Salt Lake Sector V with Howrah Maidan, is 16.6 km long. The East-West Metro has 12 stations – Howrah Maidan, Howrah, Mahakaran, Esplanade, Sealdah, Phoolbagan, Salt Lake Stadium, Bengal Chemical, City Centre, Central Park, Karunamoyee and Salt lake Sector V.

The first phase of East-West Metro connecting the city's tech hub of Salt Lake Sector V with the Yuva Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) was inaugurated on February 13, 2020.