Metro Rail gets CRS nod on track switch at Kavi Subhas; to regularise Blue Line operations
Times of India | 28 January 2026
Kolkata: Metro Railway in Kolkata has recently received a crucial nod from the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) for a solution to maintain Blue Line timings, allowing maintenance of 98% operational accuracy.
Till now, CRS did not allow a Metro rake to leave the second-last southern terminal, Shahid Khudiram, before the preceding one turned at the terminal Kavi Subhash station to head northwards. The stricture was a safety precaution to ensure only one train was on the tracks between Kavi Subhash and Shahid Khudiram.
Shahid Khudiram's viaduct slopes down to Kavi Subhash, a ground-level station. Metro Railway urged CRS to relax this norm as operations at Kavi Subhash have been suspended since July 28, 2025. Only empty trains are driven along the gradient to use the crossover at Kavi Subhash station.
With CRS lifting the diktat temporarily, all 172 trains (Up and Down) can now go up to Kavi Subhash and switch tracks, enabling Metro to maintain 98% operational accuracy. The temporary relaxation allows trains to move towards the terminal station even as empty trains move from the opposite direction.
Ever since Kavi Subhash station was shut down after cracks were spotted in the piers supporting the platforms, the North-South or Blue Line went through operational stress. The new southern terminal, Shahid Khudiram at Briji or Dhali Bridge, lacks the crossover facility, and trains were driven to the now-suspended Kavi Subhash station at New Garia for track-switching.
As timetables went haywire, Metro tried experiments such as terminating 33 services at Tollygunge to improve frequencies, but it did not work. The biggest problem was passenger ire for being asked to get off at Tollygunge though their destinations were farther down. Instead of improving the timetables, services were delayed as waiting time to board the northbound train at Tollygunge increased.
Kavi Subhash station, the erstwhile southern terminal, has a crossover facility, and trains still use Kavi Subhash's facility as Shahid Khudiram station does not have a crossover.