Metro Railway Upgrades Third Rail on Blue Line from New Garia to Dakshineswar

07 Aug 2024 CW Team

Metro Railway is upgrading the third rail on its oldest corridor, the Blue Line between New Garia and Dakshineswar, to enhance energy efficiency and enable trains to run at shorter intervals. The third rail, which supplies power to the trains, is being replaced in phases with an aluminium version, starting at Maidan and Girish Park stations.

According to a Metro official, aluminium is a superior conductor of electricity compared to steel. This upgrade is expected to minimise system voltage drops and energy losses, resulting in faster train acceleration. The official stated that the aluminium third rail would reduce energy loss by 84 per cent, saving approximately Rs 10 million per kilometre annually and cutting carbon emissions by 50,000 tons over its lifetime.

Preparatory work has begun at Girish Park and Maidan stations, carried out overnight after commercial services end. The main components, shipped from Hamburg, Germany, arrived in Calcutta in late July and are anticipated to reach the installation sites shortly.

The spokesperson noted that the delivered material will cover around 5 kilometres of work and that the entire 35-kilometer Blue Line is expected to be completed in two years. Currently, train intervals during rush hours are about five minutes, but with the aluminium third rail, the frequency could improve to every two-and-a-half minutes.

In addition to the aluminum third rail, more electrical substations will be necessary to achieve the desired rush-hour frequency, as these substations provide power to the third rail.

Infrastructure Transport

01 Jun 2026

MMRDA advances 250 m on Orange Gate–Marine Drive tunnel

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has completed 250 m of underground tunnelling for the Orange Gate–Marine Drive Urban Road Tunnel using India’s largest slurry shield tunnel boring machine (TBM) deployed for an urban road project.The project involves twin tunnels extending over 7 km beneath critical transport corridors, including Central Railway, Western Railway and Metro Line 3. The work requires high-precision engineering to navigate densely developed urban infrastructure.Once completed, the tunnel is expected to reduce travel time between Orange Gate and Marin..

Hindustan Zinc Pays Rs 188.46 Billion in FY26

Hindustan Zinc contributed Rs 188.46 billion to the public exchequer in FY 2025-26, according to its 9th Tax Transparency Report. The contribution, equivalent to 46 per cent of the company’s revenue, included direct and indirect taxes, government royalties, dividends to the Government of India, withholding taxes and other statutory levies.The company’s five-year cumulative contribution to the exchequer stood at Rs 915.72 billion. In FY26, Hindustan Zinc reported revenue of Rs 408.44 billion, EBITDA of Rs 221.62 billion and profit after tax of Rs 138.32 billion. It also achieved its highest..

World of Concrete India 2026 Opens in Mumbai

Informa Markets in India will host the 12th edition of World of Concrete India 2026 from 3–5 June 2026 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. The specialised B2B exhibition will bring together manufacturers, suppliers, contractors, developers, architects, consultants, infrastructure companies, project leaders and government stakeholders.The event is expected to feature over 350 brands and more than 18,000 trade professionals. It will cover concrete and cement, dry mortar, precast technologies, formwork, construction chemicals, industrial and commercial flooring, scaffolding, safety solutio..