12 Kolkata: To expedite work in the incomplete Esplanade-Sealdah section, some significant operational changes have been introduced in East-West Metro's under-river stretch. From Monday, trains running through the west-bound tunnel, towards Esplanade, will not go beyond Mahakaran because two six-car rakes have been parked on the tracks. Those plying on the east-bound tunnel will, however, continue along the entire 4.8 km Esplanade-Howrah Maidan stretch. To make up for the inconvenience, 32 services have been added and trains will run from 6.55 am to 10 pm instead of 7 am to 9.40 pm. Officials said commuters getting off at Mahakaran can wait and board an Esplanade-bound train rolling in on the other tracks.
East-West Metro runs in two disjointed sections — the 4.8 km Howrah Maidan-Esplanade and the 9.2 km Sector V-Sealdah. Currently, 118 services are run in the under-river section on weekdays and 46 on Sundays. The latter remains unchanged. The 2.5 km Esplanade-Sealdah stretch is incomplete because it covers the subsidence-ridden Bowbazar area. The authorities are trying to start the corridor's full 16 km run next year.
The Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section has two stations in between — Howrah railway station and Mahakaran. "Due to the ongoing construction work between Esplanade and Sealdah, services between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade are being revised from Nov 11 (Monday) till further notice," a Metro official said.
If a passenger with his back to Howrah Maidan and facing Kolkata boards a train from the platform on his left, he can go up to Esplanade like before. But if he takes a train from the platform on his right, he can only travel till Mahakaran. Trains are run in both directions from both platforms because the corridor is still incomplete. "Through announcements and signages, passengers will be made aware of the latest changes," assured Metro Railway CPRO Kausik Mitra.
Two rakes are being used for operations on the west-bound tracks. After a fortnight, these will be exchanged with the ones parked along the Esplanade-Mahakaran stretch.
The Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section, pulling around 50,000 passengers daily, is a crucial link between Howrah and Kolkata via the Hooghly. But it has a major limitation. Rakes need to be transported through the incomplete Esplanade-Sealdah stretch to Salt Lake's Central Park depot for maintenance because such facilities are unavailable in Howrah. Last month, the rake maintenance schedule was revised from weekly to fortnightly, and weekly operations were reduced from 130 to 118, to ease pressure on the rakes. "The third line is charged for rake movement. This throws the entire civil work out of gear. A month's power block will allow uninterrupted work in the Esplanade-Sealdah section," an official said.