Residents of the city of joy have a big reason to smile! The country’s first underwater Metro is all set to open in Kolkata soon. Also, the underground Phool Bagan Metro Station is likely to start daily operations in the next few months. Recently, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the work at the Phool Bagan Metro Station, which falls on the East-West Metro corridor, is in progress. A Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) official told that many development works at the Kolkata Metro Station have already been completed and the station is expected to commence operations in the next three to four months.
According to Indrani Banerjee, CPRO at Kolkata Metro, the station counters, platforms, escalators, lifts, screens, stairs, etc. are ready. She further said that the documents are also ready to be sent to the Commission of Railway Safety. Once the Metro Station is inspected and is approved by the Commission of Railway Safety, it will be thrown open to the public.
Earlier this month, the first phase of Kolkata’s East-West Metro corridor was inaugurated by the Railway Minister. The 5.3 km long stretch connecting Sector V to Salt Lake Stadium, covers Bengal Chemical, Central Park, Karunamoyee, City Centre stations in between. The East-West Corridor is 16.5 km long in total and the project aims to connect Howrah on Hoogly river’s west bank to Salt City Lake on east side.
The passenger-carrying capacity of the East-West Metro rake is 2,070, with a seating capacity of 286 people. A dedicated seating space has also been provided for senior citizens. Inside each coach, there are mobile, laptop chargers and also, emergency announcements can be heard from Operation Control Centre. The East-West corridor has been equipped with Communication-Based Train Control System, which enables automatic train operation with minimal intervention from Motorman. The stations on this corridor have been provided with CCTVs, lifts, escalators, door frame metal detectors, baggage scanners, fire extinguishers, etc.