Shrikant Sharma, Kolkata
On Tuesday, a metro train ran for the first time in the underground tunnel between the East-West Metro’s Sealdah-Esplanade stations. Keeping in view all the apprehensions regarding the trial run, extensive preparations were made by the Metro Railway. The train (MR 607) left Sealdah Metro Station at 11.20 am and reached Esplanade station at 11.31 am, covering a journey of 2.63 km in 11 minutes.
General Manager of Metro Railway and Chairman of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) P Udaya Kumar Reddy and other senior officials were present on the occasion.
The general manager was traveling in a motorman cab. The trial run began with the breaking of a coconut by the GM and chanting by the Pandit.
The General Manager congratulated everyone for this successful trial run. Later he also held a meeting with officials of Metro Railway and KMRCL.
Bahubazar: Landslide occurred repeatedly in the 40 meter area of ​​the tunnel.
The stretch from Howrah Maidan to Phulbagan in the East-West Metro is underground. It has two tunnels. Among them, Sealdah Gami Tunnel has been completed long ago. The line is also laid. Currently, trains pass through the tunnel from Esplanade Metro Station to Sealdah Metro Station as required. But during the excavation of the tunnel leading from Sealdah to Esplanade Metro Station, there were frequent accidents near Bahubazaar. The first landslide occurred in August 2019 while excavating soil with a boring machine, which forced the work to stop. Such a problem was repeatedly observed in the 40 meter area of ​​the tunnel under construction in Bahubazar. That section was repeatedly damaged during work in May and October 2022. Water entered the tunnel. Due to frequent work disruptions, it is still not possible to restore service between Sealdah and Esplanade today.
The trial run will continue for the next few days:
Work was going on in the tunnel leading from Sector 5 to Howrah Maidan. Power was made available to the third line after completion of all works in December last year. After that, a trial was conducted by running the trolley for a few days. A metro train passed through the tunnel for the first time on Tuesday. Officials said that after the successful trial run on Tuesday, the trial run on experimental basis will continue for the next few days. After this the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) will inspect. After getting their approval, the road from Esplanade to Sealdah will be opened for passengers. After a successful trial run on Tuesday, it is hoped that the metro train will soon be operational on the Sealdah-Esplanade section.
Disclaimer: This is an automated news feed of Prabhat Khabar newspaper. This has not been edited by Prabhat Khabar.com team
