Trial of Howrah-Esplanade route of the E-W Metro set for April

The second week of April might see the beginning of train trials along the Esplanade-Howrah Maidan section of the East-West Metro, below the Hooghly. In November of last year, the implementing organisation Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) planned to hold its first trials along the 16.6-kilometer final stretch of the corridor. However, Bowbazar's twin subsidences, the first in May and the second in October of last year, delayed the final Howrah Maidan run. The trial run between Esplanade and Howrah Maidan terminal station has been in the works ever since. The area between Esplanade and Howrah Maidan has been completed for construction. With the exception of the Mahakaran station, which is currently undergoing final preparations, all of the stations are also prepared for operation. In July, the stretch will be ready for use, and a three-day first train trial may occur two months before the finished status. A shortened service between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade on the East-West Metro corridor was said to be in the works earlier this month by Metro Railway GM if the Sealdah-Esplanade section wasn't finished by then. However, project officials pointed out that even after a successful trial run, the Bowbazar stretch could still be a challenge. According to them, at least one of the tunnels between Esplanade and Sealdah must be ready for regular train operations between Esplanade and Howrah Maidan so that the rakes can be transported to the Central Park depot for routine maintenance. For fear of further subsidence, ITD-ITD Cementation, which was contracted to construct the final 2.5 km of the East-West Metro, has stopped linking the two tunnels below Nirmal Chunder Street. Since April 1st of this year, work has been underway to connect the vent shaft at Subodh Mullick Square to the twin tunnels. However, work significantly slowed down following the cave-ins on May 11 and October 14. In order to connect the twin tunnels to the vent shaft at Subodh Mullick Square, the authorities are considering using ground freezing to strengthen the soil. The soil in this area is similar to Durga Pituri Lane in Bowbazar, where on August 31, 2019, a subsidence caused the first house to fall. From Sector V to Sealdah, East-West Metro now operates shortened services along a 9-kilometer route. Trains traveling between Phoolbagan and Sealdah use the eastward tunnel because the west-ward tunnel is not finished.