Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the final 2.6 km segment of the East-West Metro, connecting Esplanade and Sealdah, along with the 4.5 km stretch of the Orange Line between Hemanta Mukhopadhyay and Beleghata stations, on April 24, according to sources reported on Thursday.
It was learnt that an alert about this from the railway ministry in Delhi reached top officials on Thursday morning. But there was no official confirmation.
There remains uncertainty about whether the Prime Minister will conduct a virtual inauguration of the two metro lines. Additionally, the agenda includes the unveiling of several railway stations across the state that have been upgraded under the Amrit Bharat scheme, as noted by a source. A spokesperson for the metro did not verify this information, despite urgent meetings being held at various levels on Thursday. Senior officials from the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), the agency responsible for the East-West Metro, which is now approaching its complete 16.6 km route from Sector V to Howrah Maidan, convened to ensure that the remaining civil construction work is finalized in the coming days.
The forthcoming Phase III, specifically the 2.6km stretch from Esplanade to Sealdah, has recently undergone safety evaluations conducted by the Independent Safety Assessor (ISA), an external evaluator. The French organization ‘Certifier’ is responsible for granting this certification to all new metro lines globally.
A team from Certifier has visited the site. According to sources, Metro Railway will request Certifier to promptly issue its safety approval. The Central Railway Safety (CRS) will require reports from the ISA’s visit, along with documentation provided by the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) regarding signal and telecommunication tests carried out since January.
An official indicated that the compulsory safety inspection by the state fire and emergency services department is scheduled for next week, followed closely by the CRS inspection.
Additionally, the Prime Minister is expected to virtually inaugurate the Orange Line’s Phase II. This section has already received CRS approval for commercial operations along the 4.5km Ruby-Metropolitan segment. Last year, Metro Railway and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd extended the line by 4km from Metropolitan to Sector V as part of Phase II. However, work on the final 366 meters has stalled since February 2, awaiting a No Objection Certificate (NoC) for a traffic block from Kolkata Police. RVNL had aimed for a June 2025 completion for the Orange Line’s 8.5km Ruby-Sector V segment. An official noted that with the commissioning to Sector V now uncertain, the ministry appears to have reverted to the initial plans, limiting Phase II to the Ruby-Metropolitan stretch.
The city was awaiting the Orange Line’s Sector V link because the corridor would meet East-West Metro there.Currently, the line operates over a distance of 5.4 kilometers, extending from New Garia to Ruby.
