Kolkata: Trials for the automatic signalling system for the recently completed west-bound tunnel in the East-West Metro's Esplanade-Sealdah stretch are likely to begin in mid-Jan.
Track-laying work in the Bowbazar section of the corridor is complete. The 2.5 km stretch between Esplanade and Sealdah stations is the only unfinished part of the East-West Metro, which runs in two phases — the 9.2 km Sealdah-Sector V and the 4.8 km Howrah Maidan-Esplanade.
The construction of the west-bound tunnel went through a major fiasco when the tunnel borer building it hit an aquifer on Aug 31, 2019. The same area has experienced multiple incidents of water seepage and soil subsidence ever since. Now that the tunnel is complete, officials said the third line will be charged with electricity on Dec 31, and the tunnel will be ready for trials of the automatic signalling system.
The signal testing, with trains on the tracks, is the final stage of the construction, following which the Commissioner of Safety will be invited to inspect the stretch and issue the mandatory safety approval for commercial use.
The east-bound track was being used to transport rakes from the Howrah section to the Salt Lake maintenance depot all these months. Signalling tests for the east-bound tunnel started in June and continued until Oct.
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