Metro Railway has initiated a critical inspection of the highly anticipated Esplanade-Sealdah section of Kolkata’s East-West Metro, marking a major step toward commissioning the final 2.6 km stretch.
This evaluation is a prerequisite for the upcoming inspection by the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS), the regulatory authority under the civil aviation ministry responsible for clearing new metro lines across India.
The Rs 10,000 crore East-West Metro corridor, set to span 16.6 km from Sector V to Howrah Maidan, currently operates in two disconnected segments—9.2 km between Sealdah and Sector V and 4.8 km between Esplanade and Howrah Maidan. The completion of the Esplanade-Sealdah section will integrate the corridor, significantly improving Kolkata’s metro connectivity. Metro Railway aims to launch this stretch by Poila Baishakh (April 15).
In the coming weeks, engineers will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the new section, examining both Howrah-bound and Sector V-bound tracks, electrical systems, and overall infrastructure. A key aspect of the process includes submitting a detailed report on the software upgrades for the communication-based train control (CBTC) system across all 12 East-West Metro stations.
Following Metro Railway’s submission of its status report, CRS will conduct its independent assessment, including trial runs, before granting the final safety approval.
