Kolkata Metro Line 2

Kolkata Metro Line 2, also known as the East-West Metro and Green Line, is a rapid transit line of the Kolkata Metro in the Indian state of West Bengal. It currently consists of an operational section between Salt Lake and Sealdah, and will eventually connect Howrah by going underneath the Hooghly River, with an eastern extension also planned for Teghoria. It would consist of 17 stations from Teghoria (Haldiram) in the east to Howrah Maidan in the west, of which 11 would be elevated and 6 would be underground, with a total distance of . It is expected to derive a very high ridership since it will connect India's two largest commuter railway and long-distance railway terminals (Howrah and (Sealdah) along with two of its largest business districts (BBD Bagh and Salt Lake Sector V). It will also be connecting the industrial hub of Kolkata i.e. Howrah and the IT hub of Kolkata i.e. Sector 5. Line 2 has India's biggest underwater metro tunnel along with the deepest metro shaft. In the deepest metro shaft, Howrah metro station will be the deepest metro station in India, which will be 33 meters deep.The first phase between Salt Lake Sector V and Salt Lake Stadium was inaugurated by Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on 13 February 2020 and commercial services started from 14 February 2020.
History.
The master plan had already identified the corridor way back in 1971. But the success of the Delhi Metro contributed to the sanction of the East – West Metro corridor, which will connect Howrah Railway Station with the Satellite City of Salt Lake. In January 2004, the Pacific Consultant International Group conducted a feasibility study for the line. The report proposed the route and tubular structures be under the Hooghly River.
A new organisation called the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRC) was formed, which will be executing the operations of this Line, commencing construction in 2009. Of KMRC's eight directors, four each were from the state and central governments. The cost was 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). But as of 2011, after state government dis-invested from the project, most of the share of this project went to Indian Railways and with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The project is estimated at a cost of . While by 2019, the cost escalated to .
But due to major setbacks, such as land acquisition, slum relocation, and route alignment problems, the project got delayed. The East-West Corridor was originally slated to be operational by 2012, but was later pushed back to 2015. The project will now be implemented in four phases. The first phase, from Salt Lake Sector V to Salt Lake Stadium, became operational on 13 February 2020. The second phase, to Phoolbagan opened on 4 October 2020, operational from 5 October 2020. The third phase to Sealdah is operational from 14 July 2022 and the final phase which includes the journey through the tubular tunnels under the Ganges will be operational by 2023.
Tunneling (Phase 2).
The section between Sealdah and Mahakaran station was realigned due to the objection of Government of West Bengal. Work at Howrah Maidan has started in March 2016. The section between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade station has been built by the Afcons – Transtonnelstroy JV team, two tunnel boring machines from Herrenknecht are being used to dig the tunnel. This section passes through the river Hooghly for a distance of . The section under the river is at a depth of (roof to ground distance) whereas the average roof to ground distance is . The Howrah station on the west side of the river will be at a depth of . Tunnelling started from Howrah Maidan side, by Afcons. On 23 May 2017 one of the TBM named Rachna completed the tunneling under the Hoogly river in 36 days. The other TBM named Prerna also completed the tunnelling work under the river on 21 June 2017. There were some concerns during tunneling under Brabourne road as the tunnel would pass within of heritage structures and there were also many old and dilapidated buildings in this section. KMRC received permission from Archaeological Survey of India in June 2017. Residents and shops in the old building were temporarily shifted and the buildings were reinforced before construction of tunnel. Construction of tunnel to Mahakaran station was completed in November 2017. For the Mahakaran-Esplanade section, tunneling has been completed on 23 March 2018. The other tunnel has also been completed by April. In these sections, above ground retail buildings have been shifted in a phased manner prior to tunnelling. The Esplanade – Sealdah section will be executed by ITD Cementation JV and started in May 2018. The Esplanade - Sealdah section has been delayed due to the detection of steel beams that were left during the construction of the first line of Kolkata Metro. The NATM tunneling method is being used to cut the steel beams. This work was concluded in February 2019 and then the main tunneling commenced. In September 2019, when TBM Chandi reached Bowbazar, it hit a massive aquafier, less than a kilometer from its destination, Sealdah. It led to soil subsidence and many buildings collapsed. The residents were shifted to hotels and apartments. Later the land was stabilized by grouting and the unsafe buildings were pulled down. High Court ordered to stop further tunneling immediately. Due to the incident the tunneling was delayed, thus delaying the overall deadline for one year. It was planned that the affected TBM would be taken out from the incident site, and the second one will complete the tunneling till Sealdah. Then it will be reversed again to complete the remaining portion of the tunnel of first TBM. In mid-February 2020, High Court asked to resume the work in the affected area.
Inauguration.
1st phase.
On 3 February 2020, the final inauguration date was revealed. After 11 years, since the construction started, the first phase of the line was inaugurated on 13 February by Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal, with commercial services to start the very next day. The service will start from 8 am and ends at 8 pm, with 37 pairs of services a day. 5 rakes would run at a frequency of 20 minutes. Dipak Kumar drove the first train.
In October 2021, services up to Phoolbagan were extended as a part of Phase 1A.
2nd Phase.
On 14 July 2022, the first commercial run from Sealdah metro station was made, as a part of Phase 2.
Infrastructure.
Stations.
All the stations in this line will be equipped with Platform Screen Doors to keep people away from the tracks. 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.
Escalators and elevators.
Ninety escalators and forty elevators are to be installed at different levels in the line to facilitate smooth mobility of passengers including physically challenged &amp; aged persons. LOA for installation of forty-one escalators and twenty-six elevators for 8 nos. stations of Phase-I has been awarded.
Tunnel Ventilation System (TVS).
TVS shall provide a means to control smoke flow and ensure safe evacuation of passengers in case of fire as well as maintain an acceptable environment in the tunnel and station track way. Tender for the TVS was invited and the bids of eligible tenderers are being evaluated.
Platform Screen Doors (PSDs).
PSDs are a system of full height/half height motorized sliding doors that provide controlled access to the trains and protect the platform edge. PSD work for 6 elevated and 2 underground stations have been completed.
Electrification, Signaling &amp; Automatic Fare Collection.
The line will have two types of signaling equipment supplied by ANSALDO STS . One will feature cab signaling and continuous automatic train control with automatic train protection. The other signaling equipment will include an integrated system featuring fiber optic cable, SCADA, radios and a PA system. The line will also have a train information system, control telephones and a centralized clock system. Contract for AFC works has been awarded to M/s. Indra Sistemas SA (Spain).
Operations.
Unlike the north–south corridor, the east–west metro will run from 8 am to 8 pm at a frequency of 1.5 minutes during peak hours and 5 minutes during non-peak hours. But in phase 1 operations, the frequency will be 20 minutes, and each will stop for 20 seconds in each station.
Rolling stock.
CAF in collaboration with Melco was to supply 14 trains for this line. The 14 rakes were acquired at a cost of approximately €110m . Each rake will compose of 6 coaches having a capacity of 2068 people per train. The maximum speed of the train will be . 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 and excessive delay in project. 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. Thus, the contract for providing the rakes was awarded to BEML. BEML have earlier provided rakes for Delhi Metro, Bengaluru Metro &amp; Jaipur Metro. Fourteen rakes, each with six coaches, were ordered. Out of Fourteen, eleven rakes have already been received by KMRC.
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 again to the Dum Dum Airport-New Garia Metro in Teghoria (Haldiram). According to this proposal the East-West Metro will have 3 terminating stations at Howrah Maidan, Sector V and the proposed Teghoria station. In Teghoria, it will be connected to the NSCBI Airport-New Garia metro route (VIP Road Station) and interconnection facilities will be present. It was previously planned that the extension and the present route would converge at the Central Park Station. But now the plan is changed and it is decided to extend the line directly from Salt Lake Sector V Station. The proposed extension is under study and it will need several clearances before being implemented. 10 km East-West Metro extension project from Howrah Maidan to Santragachi bus terminus had been proposed. RITES, the implementing agency for this project planned to start work on the corridor early in 2017.