123 Kolkata: There will be no services on the East-West Metro's under-river section this Sunday and the next because of signal and telecommunication (S&T) tests. Metro Railway announced on Friday that "to conduct interlocking tests for the communication-based train control (CBTC) system between Sector V and Howrah Maidan stretch of the Green line, no Metro services will be available on Green line 2 or the Esplanade-Howrah Maidan section on Jan 12 and Jan 19 (both Sundays)."
Commuters of Green line 1 or Sector V-Sealdah section will not be affected as there are on Sunday services.
"The exhaustive interlocking test is essential to interface and integrate both software and hardware of the system in the entire stretch from Howrah Maidan to Sector V," Metro Railway, which runs the city's rapid transit network, said.
Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) is the implementing agency for the 16.6 km East-West Metro, which will eventually link Sector V with Howrah Maidan.
The corridor now runs in two disjointed sections because the in-between 2.5 km Esplanade-Sealdah section is incomplete. The section's civil construction is almost over. Now it's the turn of the S&T tests. Metro aims to launch the section in mid-2025 and have East-West Metro run its full 16.6 km.