KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): Kolkata’s New Garia-Airport Metro ramp construction, which had been stalled for three years due to a logjam on VIP Road, is now set to proceed. To enable traffic diversion and the construction of the ramp leading to the underground station, the Kolkata airport’s land is being handed over by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Metro Railway has agreed to pay Rs 64 crore to the airport authorities and has already released half of the sum. Once completed, the Public Works Department (PWD) will let Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) to barricade the Kolkata-bound flank near Kaikhali crossing and initiate construction work. RVNL estimates it will take two months to build the road for traffic diversion.
The New Garia line, which terminates at the airport along with the Noapara-Airport and Barasat-Airport links, is a crucial part of Kolkata’s upcoming Metro network. The New Garia-Airport Metro route will mainly comprise a viaduct over EM Bypass and New Town, but will also include an 800m underground section on VIP Road to link the overhead tracks with the Airport Metro station. The diaphragm walls for tunnelling through the cut-and-cover method to link the 32km New Garia-Airport corridor with the terminal Airport Metro station have already begun. The Metro tracks will go underground on VIP Road to connect the Airport Metro station. The Metro viaduct has been built until the Kaikhali crossing, but further progress was halted due to the land logjam. Despite the fact that the construction of the New Garia-Airport line has been ongoing for years, the 5.4km section from New Garia to Ruby is now prepared for launching.
