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Kolkata Metro Line 2

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Kolkata Metro Line 2
East West Metro
ইস্ট ওয়েস্ট মেট্রো
File:Kolkata KMRC logo.png
Overview
StatusUnder Construction
LocaleKolkata
Termini
Stations12
WebsiteKMRC
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemKolkata Metro
Operator(s)KMRC
Rolling stockCAF [1]
Daily ridership4 lakhs or 0.47 million by 2015 (projected)
History
Planned openingSeptember 2016 (projected)
Technical
Line length14.67 kilometres (9.12 mi)
Underground : 8.90 kilometres (5.53 mi)
Elevated : 5.77 kilometres (3.59 mi)
CharacterElevated and Underground
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC[2] using third rail
Operating speed80 km/h (designed)

Line 2, also known as the East-West Corridor of the Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system under construction which will serve Kolkata, Salt Lake and Howrah in the Indian state of West Bengal underneath the Hooghly River. It would consist of 12 stations from Salt Lake Sector V in the east to Howrah Maidan in the west, of which 6 would be elevated and 6 would be underground, with a total distance of 14.67 km.

The East-West corridor of the Kolkata Metro is under construction at Howrah Maidan on August 2012.

History

The master plan had already identified the corridor way back in 1971. But the experience of India’s first metro and the success of the Delhi metro network contributed to the sanction of the East – West Metro corridor which will connect Howrah Railway Station with the Satellite City of Salt Lake underneath the Hooghly River. In January 2004, Pacific Consultant International Group conducted a feasibility study for the line. The report proposed the route and tubular structures under the Hooghly River.

A new organisation was formed known as Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRC) which will be executing the operations of this Line thus starting the physical construction in 2009.[3] Of KMRC's eight directors, four each are from the state and central governments. The cost is being shared between the state government (30 per cent), the Union Urban Development Ministry (25 per cent), and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) (45 per cent).[4] But as of 2011 most of the share of this project went to Indian Railways with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The project is estimated at a cost of ₹50 billion (US$600 million).[5]

But due to some major set backs the project got delayed. These were mainly due to Land Acquisition, slum relocation and route alignment problems. The East-West Metro was originally slated to be operational by 2012, but is later pushed back to 2015. The first phase, a stretch of 9 km, is currently expected to be operational in June 2018 and the second phase, 6 km in length, will be operational by June 2019.

Current Status

As of January 2016:

  • Elevated Corridor: Out of the total length of 5.75 KM, 5.374 KM have been completed leaving 365 meters in Duttabad to be completed. The land problem at Duttabad have been resolved in November 2015 by active cooperation between the state and central government. Construction at Duttabad is going to start soon after rehabilitation of residents is completed. 3.4 KM of ballast less track have been laid on the elevated section.
  • 6 Elevated Station : Structural work for elevated stations have been completed. Roofing work in some stations like Karunamoyee and City Center have been completed. Roofing work in the rest of the stations are ongoing. Architectural and electrical work is yet to start.
  • Underground Tunnel for Phase 1: 5490 meters of tunnel have been constructed. Two tunnel boring machines have been deployed in this section. All the cross passes between the two tunnels have also been completed.
  • Underground Stations : Underground stations are to be constructed by cut and cover method. Work on underground stations are at nascent stage.
  • Underground Tunnel for Phase 2: Work at Howrah Maidan have started in February 2016.
  • Train Depot: The construction of train depot is ongoing and nearing completion at Salt Lake Central Park.

After multiple delays the Phase-I have been scheduled to be opened in July 2018. But there are plans to open Phase-I in December 2017.

Infrastructure

Stations

All the stations in this line will be equipped with Platform Screen Doors to keep people away from the tracks.[6] Mott MacDonald is the detailed design consultant for all the elevated stations, whereas Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects have designed all the underground stations. Out of the 6 underground stations, 3 will be built by ITD Cementation, a part of Italian-Thai Development Public Company and the other 3 will be built by Afcons including the 520 meters underwater stretch. All the elevated stations will be built by Kolkata based Simplex Infrastructure ltd.[7][8]

Electrification & Signalling

The line will have two types of signalling equipment supplied by ANSALDO STS . One will feature cab signalling and continuous automatic train control with automatic train protection. The other signalling equipment will include an integrated system featuring fibre optic cable, SCADA, radios and a PA system. The line will also have a train information system, control telephones and a centralised clock system.

Operations

Unlike the north-south corridor, the east-west metro will run from 5 am to 11 pm at a frequency of 2.5 minutes during peak hours and 5 minutes during non-peak hours.[9]

Rolling stock

CAF in collaboration with Melco will supply 14 trains for this line.[10] The 14 rakes were acquired at a cost of approximately €110m[11] ₹6 billion (US$72 million). Each rake will compose of 6 coaches having a capacity of 2068 people per train.[12] The maximum speed of the train will be 90 km/h. The first lot of trains was to be manufactured in Spain and imported to Kolkata in November 2014. The next lot was to be manufactured in India. However, the tender was cancelled by KMRC due to technical reasons[13] and a re-tender was issued in July 2015. BEML emerged as the only bidder in the fourth round of bidding for providing rolling stock.[14] The contract for providing the rakes have been awarded to BEML.[15] BEML have earlier provided rakes for Delhi and Bangalore Metro. Fourteen trains, each with six coaches, are expected to be supplied to the East-West Metro.

Environmental Impact

The elevated section that has been constructed at SaltLake( Bidhannagar) was earlier flanked with trees at the central meridian. All the trees have been felled for the purpose of building the elevated viaduct. There has been no report if adequate re-plantation have been done to compensate the felling of trees. The Central park train depot have come up in Centarl Park, which was earlier a thickly wooded area. Almost 30% of Central Park which is the lungs of the eastern park of the city have been occupied for building the train depot. Other parts of central park have been used to to create cricket and football sports centre, swimming pool, bus stand, fair ground, underground water storage facility and most appalling a convention hall.

Proposed Extensions

The West Bengal government have proposed an extension to the East-West metro line. In this proposal the East West Metro will be connected to the Airport Goria Metro near Haldiram stoppage. According to this proposal the East West Metro will have 3 terminating stations at Howrah Maidan, Sector V and the proposed Haldiram station. At Haldiram it will be connected to the Airport-Garia metro route and interconnection facilities will be present. The extension and the present route will converge at the Central Park Station.[16] The proposed extension is under study and it will need several clearances before being implemented.

See also

References

  1. ^ "In Spanish".
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ "East-West Metro gets new boss". The Telegraph.
  4. ^ "East-West Metro's route likely to change". Business Standard.
  5. ^ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article3650126.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home
  6. ^ "KMRC=2013-07-22".
  7. ^ "Mott MacDonald is detailed design consultant on Salt Lake City Stations". Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Railway Technology". Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Kolkata East West Metro". Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  10. ^ [2]
  11. ^ [3]
  12. ^ [4]
  13. ^ "Kolkata loses Spanish Rides". The Telegraph.
  14. ^ "Bid saves Metro blushes". The Telegraph.
  15. ^ "Central PSU wins Rs 900-crore Metro rake order". The Times of India.
  16. ^ "East-West eyes easy route to airport". The Telegraph.
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