Kolkata: Metro services on the entire East-West corridor, from Salt Lake Sector V to Howrah Maidan, will not be available this weekend due to a complete traffic block for testing the Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC)
signalling system.
According to Metro authorities, services will be completely suspended on March 8 (Saturday) and 9 (Sunday), while partial disruptions are expected on the evening of March 7 (Friday) and the morning of March 10 (Monday). The traffic block is scheduled to commence at 8 pm on Friday and continue until 7 am on Monday. As a result, the first and last Metro services on the Green Line will have altered schedules on those days. This affects both stretches: Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah and Howrah Maidan to Esplanade, where commercial operations are currently running. On March 7 (Friday), the last Metro service from Sealdah to Salt Lake Sector V will depart at 7:03 pm, instead of 9:35 pm. The last train from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah will leave at 7:05 pm, instead of 9:40 pm. In the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch, the final services from Esplanade and Howrah Maidan will depart at 7 pm, much earlier than the usual 9:45 pm schedule.
On March 10 (Monday), the first Metro services will be delayed by at least one hour. The first train from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah will depart at 8:05 am instead of 7:05 am, while the first service from Sealdah to Salt Lake Sector V will leave at 8:15 am instead of 6:55 am. Similarly, the first trains from Esplanade and Howrah Maidan will start at 8 am instead of 7 am.