Metro eyes Poila Baisakh date for full East-West operations
Times of India | 28 February 2025
12 Kolkata: Metro Railway is eyeing Poila Baisakh, or April 15, as the date for launching East-West Metro's full 16.6-km run. However, engineers are divided over the feasibility of the target. One section feels the deadline is attainable with the current pace of work while others believe that even if the Esplanade-Sealdah section appears more-or-less ready in the next 40 days, revenue operations of the last 2.6-km leg will depend on acquiring safety clearance from the CRS and the fire-proof certificate from the state.
The safety agencies will be extra cautious in issuing the clearance because the Esplanade-Sealdah section passes through the subsidence-hit Bowbazar, officials said. Others are confident that the ongoing signal and telecommunication (S&T) tests would be over by the second week of March, following which, fire safety equipment, like fire-proof doors at the three cross-passages, will be installed, and the finishing touches given to the new section.
Metro Railway is trying to get the CRS to inspect the new stretch in the third week of March. "The missing link between the two functional stretches is expected to get the nod for commercial operations thereafter," an engineer said.
Over the past year, especially the last six months, Metro Railway general manager P Uday Kumar Reddy has been rigorously monitoring progress of the Esplanade-Sealdah stretch.
However, Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), the implementing agency of the Rs 10,000 crore East-West corridor project, and ITD ITD-Cementation, contracted to build the last 2.6-km leg, managed to complete track-laying in Dec 2024.
In a press conference to mark 40 years of Kolkata Metro, Reddy said he could not "commit" any deadline for the East-West Metro. "The construction in that area (Bowbazar) is very critical. We really don't know what exactly will happen. We are trying our level best to safely move inch by inch. We are not able to specifically tell you the date on which we will be able to complete the work," Reddy said.
"Finally, we are on the last bit of a difficult and prolonged journey. Fingers crossed, Kolkatans will be able to travel from Sector V to Howrah Maidan on Poila Baisakh," an official said. Another official said, "I hope this isn't another of those missed deadlines."
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