Kolkata | Metro

The proposed East-West Metro, which will run 13 km from Salt Lake to Howrah station, is set to be a reality by 2012. Around 1000 feet of the stretch, between Mahakaran (BBD Bag) and Howrah stations, will be under the Hooghly.

“Work will start in 2008 and the project will be commissioned early next decade,” said state transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury.

A transport department official, who did not wish to be named, said the government has set 2012 as the deadline for starting the train service.

The 12 stations on the route will be Howrah, Mahakaran, Central, Bowbazar, Sealdah, Phoolbagan, Salt Lake stadium, Bengal Chemical, City Centre, Central Park, Karunamoyee and Sector V. The route will intersect the existing North-South Metro at Central.

The official said the East-West Metro may later be extended up to Ramrajatala, in Howrah. Of the 13 km, the train will run five km on elevated tracks.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will provide Rs 4,677 crore — around half the project cost of Rs 10,000 crore — as soft loan. The rest will be borne by the central and the state governments.

The Centre signed the loan agreement with the Japan bank in March, after chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s request to Union finance finance minister P. Chidambaram to accord “top priority” to the project.

The project will be executed by Calcutta Metro Railway Corporation Limited, of which transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury is managing director. The secretary in the Union urban development ministry is ex-officio chairman. Of the eight directors, four each will be from the state and central governments.

The company, awaiting formal approval of the Centre, has started functioning from the ground floor of Writers’ Buildings. It will later shift to the building housing the office of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners.

Rites, an undertaking of the railway ministry, has started a survey work for the project.

Chowdhury had on Thursday held a meeting at Writers’ Buildings to discuss the resettlement of the 600-odd people who would have to vacate their houses or business establishments to make room for Mahakaran and Central stations.

According to the proposal, the affected people will be relocated on transport department land off Poddar Court and on AJC Bose Road.

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TOLLYGUNGE - GARIA

Extension from Tollygunge to Garia The section will mostly be on an elevated structure and the alignment will run along the Tolly Nullah.

Total length of extension 8.70 Kms.
No. of stations 6 (5 elevated)
Status - Under construction

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It is reported that the centre, jointly with West Bengal government, is extending the metro from Tollygunge to New Garia.

The project, sanctioned in 1999-2000 and covering 8.60 kilometer, is making progress. It will have 6 stations of which 5 are elevated and 1 on the surface. The cost has been revised to INR 1,032 crore in October 2007 from INR 907.69 crore at the time of sanctioning. Metro Railway Kolkata has taken up responsibility for land survey and acquisition.

A spokesperson from Metro Railway Kolkata said that the centre, as the implementing agency, was taking 67% stake on the project cost, with the state sharing one third. He added that the fund did not include the cost of seven new rakes costing INR 200 crore, ordered by ICF Chennai for running trains in the extended portion.

The New Garia will be constructed on the surface structure and the other 5 are on an elevated structure over Tolly Nullah. The section will be an elevated structure and alignment will run along Tolly Nullah. The extension will bring South 24 Pargana districts closer to Kolkata's central business area and reduce pressure on Sealdah's south suburban section.

Rites Limited has been awarded the contract. The overall progress of civil engineering works so far is more than 90%. The spokesperson stated that the railways had decided to commence limited services up to Naktala station by September 2008. The whole expansion is tentatively expected to complete by 2009 end

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SarafIndian said:

^^ I heard that the whole stretch(Tolly to Garia) has been completed except some places in the middle due to land acquisition problem. Is it true?

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kolkatausa said:

Hey Saraf, that entire thing isn't Kolkata is it? I thought, Kolkata City limits are from Barrackpore-Budge Budge North to South, and Dankuni to Dum Dum East to West.

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Kolkata: The state government has agreed to share onethird of the project cost for the extension of the north-south Metro from Dum Dum to Dakshineswar. The project cost is estimated at Rs 537 crore.
The Railway Board had sent a proposal to the state to share 50% of the cost. But the government stuck to the policy it had followed for the Tollygunge-Garia extension.
The Metro Railway has already carried out the feasibility study for the proposed extension and sent the report to the Railway Board for its approval. For the study, too, the state bore 40% of the cost, said chief traffic and transportation engineer B K Sadhu. Informally, the board has given the green signal to the project.
However, the study for the proposed extension from Dum Dum to NSC Bose International Airport is still on. Metro Railway authorities have proposed to utilize the elevated tracks from Dum Dum Cantonment to the airport, which are now used only by two EMUs a day that few passengers avail of.
A senior Metro Railway official said the tracks were proposed to be extended till Baranagar. “But then we thought, why not extend it to Dakshineswar. The temple draws pilgrims not only from the country, but from all over the world. Yet, it is not well connected. So, from Dum Dum to Dakshineswar, it will be a 6.7-km run for the Metro. There would be three to four stations,” he added.
However, there is a little confusion over the spot where the operations should be terminated at the airport, conceded a Metro official. “Ideally, the train must reach a point from where passengers would find it easy to access the terminal building,” he said. “In this age of low-cost airlines, no passenger would like to spend Rs 500 on taxi fare after flying from one city to another for just Rs 1,500,” said another official.

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bhopalus said:

since i've never been to kolkata i cant really say, but isn't kolkata's "metro" more like an old dirty train network and less like the nice delhi metro?

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The state government is keen on extending Metro Railway to Dakshineswar, which will require an investment of Rs 537 crore.

“The proposal is ready. We are waiting for the Centre’s nod,” said transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury. “The project will ensure an integration between the north-south Metro and the proposed East-West Metro.”

The Centre had a month ago signed an agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for the Rs 4,675-crore East-West corridor which will link Salt Lake and Howrah.

For the proposed extension of the north-south line to Dakshineswar, the Metro authorities had conducted a survey a year back. “The report, submitted recently, is satisfactory,” said Chowdhury. The state will pay a third of the cost.

The 8-km stretch from Dum Dum to Dakshineswar is likely to have at least three stations — Naopara, Baranagar and Dunlop.

Initially, the service was sought to be extended till Baranagar, and then till Dunlop. But following local CPM MP Amitava Nandi’s intervention, the Centre has on principle agreed to take the tracks till Dakshineswar.

“The link will benefit people who ply down BT Road. Reaching central or south Calcutta from the northern fringes, quite difficult now, will be easy once the Metro trains run till Dakshineswar,” explained said Nandi.

Sources said the government may have to acquire a few hectares for the construction of the stations on the extended route. The state and Metro Railways have also started a survey on the viability of extending the service from Dum Dum to the airport

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bhopalus said:

since i've never been to kolkata i cant really say, but isn't kolkata's "metro" more like an old dirty train network and less like the nice delhi metro?

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arijeetb said:

The Telegraph

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SarafIndian said:

I am dreaming, metro is crossing the river and reaching to the temple. Am I overambitious? :crazy2:

Anyway, if it reaches Dakshineswar, it would really be a long and nice journey.

:cheers:

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KOLKATA, May 3: The Union ministry for finance has asked the state government to set up an independent committee to decide the fare structure for the East-West Metro and ensure its economic viability, as a condition for giving clearance to the project.
The state government's proposal for the East-West Metro Corridor Project had included the provision that there would be an increase in fare by 10 per cent every two years. However, the Centre has asked the state government to set up a three member committee headed by a retired judge to decide on the quantum of fare for the project. Future revisions would also be done according to the committee's recommendations. The project, partially funded by the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) and the rest of the cost borne by the state and the Centre, is at present awaiting clearance from the finance ministry.
A senior state government officials said the ministry felt that fare is an essential component for ensuring economic viability of the project and hence asked the West Bengal government to set up a fare fixation committee on the lines of Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC). The DMRC has a four-member-committee headed by a retired judge to decide upon its fare structure.
Another condition likely to be imposed by the ministry is that the state government would have to bear the losses in case the project turns out to be a loss-making one, officials said. Any cost escalation midway in the project would not also be borne by the Centre.
Once the finance ministry clears the project, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs would have to give the final nod.
The project has to be cleared by 10 June so that the JBIC loan can be obtained.

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