KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) is making strides in its efforts to launch the East-West Metro’s under-river run by year-end.
According to KMRC MD V K Srivastava, the trains are set to run at every 12 minutes when the East-West Metro begins its under-river run by December 2023. The agency is working toward a December 2023 deadline for the 4.8km Esplanade-Howrah Maidan stretch, with the entire 16km corridor set to begin operations in June 2024.
The nation’s first underwater Metro project has encountered a series of intricate construction challenges, primarily associated with the most significant issue being the subsidence-affected 2.4km Sealdah-Esplanade section. These challenges have caused delays in the corridor’s linear run from Sealldah to Howrah Maidan.
The East-West Metro project, heralded as India’s first under-river Metro, has encountered a series of intricate construction challenges, primarily associated with the most significant issue being the subsidence-affected 2.4km Sealdah-Esplanade section. These challenges have caused delays in the corridor’s linear run from Sealdah to Howrah Maidan.
As per Srivastava, train trials are currently underway in the under-river section, and there are plans to invite the Commissioner of Railway Safety, responsible for safety approvals, for inspection by the end of November. Limited services are anticipated to commence by the end of December due to the complexities faced in the Sealdah-Esplanade section.
Addressing the maintenance aspect, Asim Majumdar, KMRC’s director (rolling stock), has mentioned that when operations begin, two rakes will be transported to the Central Park depot every week for regular upkeep, as the state-of-the-art BEML rakes necessitate regular maintenance.
Due to the lack of a stabling yard at the Howrah Maidan end, the two rakes undergoing trials had to be transported from the Central Park depot in Salt Lake. This involved pulling them with a battery-powered locomotive through the challenging Sealdah-Esplanade section and placing them on temporary tracks through the unfinished gap in the eastbound tunnel before trails commenced on April 13.
To address soil-related challenges, the KMRC has engaged the services of Norway-based GeoFrost to implement ground frosting techniques at Nirmal Chunder Street. This innovative technique involves freezing the ground, including the water table, to create conditions suitable for micro-tunnelling. The objective is to initiate this work before the Pujas festival.
