Metro to airport, a sneak peek; to be operational after train functioning from Noapara
Telegraph | 29 March 2025
A tunnel that connects Calcutta airport with the airport Metro station is almost ready and will become operational when the trains start running from Noapara.
The 80-metre tunnel will give passengers easy access to the terminal building from the station and vice-versa, said airport officials.
The airport station, Jai Hind Bimanbandar, has five platforms and an underground maintenance yard.
The tunnel connecting the station with the terminal building has walkalators and escalators and is built at the concourse level of the Jai Hind station.
After walking up to the end of the tunnel from the platform, passengers can takeelevators or escalators to reach the ground level,where the tunnel’s entry-exit gates are located.
The tunnel’s entry-exit point is adjacent to gate number 1A at the airport terminal building’s arrival level.
Passengers coming by Metro to catch a flight will access the terminal through this tunnel and reach gate 1A. Then they can take an elevator or escalator to reach the departure level.
Similarly, those arriving on flights from other cities can access the tunnel by exiting gate 1A. The bus terminus is located near the tunnel’s entry-exit point.
“The Airports Authority of India has given Metro Railway ₹100 crore to build the tunnel for easy access for passengers coming to take a flight or arriving from another city. Metro connectivity is a big boost for dispersal,” said Pravat Ranjan Beuria, director of the Calcutta airport.
The airport station will be a hub for two routes — Noapara-Airport-Barasat and New Garia-Airport. The first phase of the Noapara-Airport-Barasat (Yellow Line) is likely to become operational in about three months, said a Metro official.
The first phase of the project has four stations — Noapara, Dum Dum Cantonment, Jessore Road and Jai Hind Bimanbandar (airport). The line goes underground from Jessore Road.
“The terminal can handle 26 million passengers per annum, and we are expecting that figure to be crossed soon,” said Beuria, the airport director. “To handle so many passengers, we need an integrated transport facility, including Metro Railway and roads,” he said.
Metro officials said the first full-fledged trial run on the 7.4km Noapara-Jai Hind Bimanbandar section took place on January 24 this year.
“The first trial run was successful. We plan to start the next set of trial runs very soon. We want to send an invitation to the commissioner of railway safety (CRS) by the end of April. The CRS will inspect the stretch and give some recommendations that have to be implemented. The commercial services will start following approval from the CRS,” said a Metro official.
Uday Kumar Reddy, Metro general manager, who was present during the January 24 trial run, told this newspaper: “The Noapara-Bimanbandar section is ready. Commercial runs should start on the stretch any time soon.”
Sources in the carrier said around four rakes will be earmarked for commercial services on the section.
“The number of rakes will depend on the frequency of the trains. If there is an interval of 10 minutes between two trains, then four rakes will be sufficient,” said an official.
The eight-coach rakes that run on the north-south corridor (Blue Line) will be used on the Yellow Line, he said.
At the beginning of 2024, Metro authorities had said that the 3km Noapara-Dum Dum Cantonment stretch would be commissioned by March 2024. But that did not happen.
“The construction between Noapara and Cantonment was making good progress. It was later decided that the entire Noapara-Bimanbandar section would be commissioned,” said a Metro official.
The 17km Noapara-Barasat project was commissioned in January 2011, but did not get going because of land logjam and encroachments. It received a fresh lease of life in 2017 thanks to renewed interest from the state government.