Goyal yet to clear air on first phase of East-West Metro

Kolkata: Railway minister Piyush Goyal on Friday failed to clarify whether the East-West (EW) Metro will be able to meet the October 2 deadline, for starting the first phase from Salt Lake Sector V to Salt Lake Stadium.

"We will urge the officials to take all necessary steps to do it by the date that was announced," Goyal said after holding a review meeting with top officials of Railway and Metro in Kolkata, with the aim of fast tracking the ongoing railway projects in the state.

Babul Supriyo, minister of state for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, who has been entrusted with the responsibility to monitor the EW Metro project, had announced that the first phase of this Metro project will be operational from October 2.

It may be mentioned that the trial run of the East-West Metro was held on July 4 from Salt Lake Sector V to Salt Lake stadium. This trial run was expected to take place in the month of May.

"It takes around five to six months of trial run for starting full fledged services. The run has just started on July 4. So, it is unlikely that the October 2 deadline can be met," said a senior official of Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Ltd (KMRCL), the implementing agency of EW Metro.

Goyal claimed that there have been frequent changes in the alignment of EW Metro routes, which has changed the structure and costing on numerous occasions. "However, inspite of that, we are hopeful that the elevated corridor of the EW Metro project from Phoolbagan to Salt Lake Sector V will commence by March 2019," Goyal said.

The minister asked the Metro authorities to take up the matter with the state government and clear the impediments concerning the Airport-New Barrackpore Metro project.

"There are around 2,000 encroachments, 23,000 square metre land has not been acquired and 86 buildings have posed hurdles. The matter will be taken up with the state Chief Secretary, to remove the roadblocks," he maintained.

Apart from the Metro projects, Goyal also reviewed the various infrastructural projects of Eastern and South Eastern Railway that have been undergoing in the state, which includes doubling of lines, electrification, elimination of unmanned level crossings, etc.