Blue Line to have CBTC signalling system in 3-4 years
The Statesman | 25 October 2025Speaking about the plans for the north-south Metro line during the celebration of 41 Foundation Day of Kolkata Metro Railway, Mr Mishra, said: “Blue Line is already 40 years old. RITES is working on strengthening the Blue Line infrastructure upgradation and eventually it will also have CBTC. The Blue Line CBTC is already sanctioned but we will have to do it with all the civil engineering upgrade.” Asked about the expected time of completion of the CBTC installation, the GM informed, “It will be done in three to four years.”
As elaborated by the general manager, presently, around 57 km, including various lines, are under sanction. Of this, work in around 29 km is under progress. The city Metro authorities are aiming to commission about 19 km of this 29-km stretch by the end of the year 2026. With this, the Metro authorities would complete the completion of the entire Orange Line. “May be by December 2029, Majerhat of the Purple Line would be connected with Esplanade and Michael Nagar to the airport,” elaborated the GM.
Notably, the Orange Line has been facing the hurdle of getting a nod for girder launching near Chingrighata over a span of around 360m. The obstruction, according to Mr Mishra, is clear now and the work on girder launching is targeted for being carried out sometimes in the second or third week of November.
After the closure of Kavi Subhash Metro station in July, the city Metro authorities are mulling over constructing a cross-over at Shaheed Khudiram Metro station to bring down the journey time of a rake while completing one run. As reiterated by the general manager, the work on the cross-over that was earlier planned after Durga Puja would now be done after Chhath Puja.
