Final inspection of East-West Metro corridor’s last stretch held

Kolkata: The final inspection of the 2.6 km stretch of the East-West Metro Corridor (Green Line), between Esplanade and Sealdah, was carried out by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) on Sunday. This inspection is a prerequisite for the commencement of passenger services on any metro section.

Sumeet Singhal, CRS of the North Frontier Circle, conducted an exhaustive inspection, covering all subsystems, including the track, tunnel, tunnel ventilation, metro trains and emergency response features of metro train operations.

Anuj Mittal, Managing Director of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL), the Principal Chief Engineer of Metro Railway, along with senior officials from both KMRCL and Metro Railway, accompanied Singhal during the inspection.

Metro Railway authorities indicated that the CRS expressed satisfaction with the readiness of the completed section for passenger operations, signalling the likelihood of swift approval. Once formal clearance from the CRS is received, the commissioning of the entire 16.55 km Green Line, running from Salt Lake Sector V to Howrah Maidan, will be planned.

Currently, the East-West Metro Corridor is operational in two phases: one from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah (9.4 km) and another from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade (4.8 km). The 2.6 km stretch between Esplanade and Sealdah, however, has faced significant delays over the past five years, primarily due to water ingress and tunnel collapses in the Bowbazar area, which first occurred on August 31, 2019.

The project overcame these setbacks through advanced retrofitting, geo-stabilisation techniques and the installation of modern track fittings.

With the Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) system now fully operational, the entire Green Line will be ready for passenger services once the CRS grants formal approval.

The East-West Metro, which crosses under the Hooghly River and connects key commercial and residential areas, is expected to significantly improve the city’s public transport system, especially for passengers travelling between Sealdah and Howrah, two major railway hubs.

It is worth noting that metro services on the East-West Corridor have been suspended from April 26 to April 28 to facilitate extensive testing of the CBTC system and to carry out inspection work related to the commissioning of the Esplanade-Sealdah section.