Kolkata: Commissioner of railway safety (CRS) Abdul Latif Khan on Thursday inspected the Joka-Taratala metro route in Kolkata for allowing commercial operation of the part of third line of the Kolkata metro, an official said.
The trial runs on the six-km route, which is the first phase of the Joka-Esplanade line of Kolkata Metro, got underway in September, this year and the hope for commercial run on this section got emboldened after the CRS inspection. Passenger services will start after a clearance from the CRS, he added.
The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has taken up the project to build 15.25km long metro network from Esplanade to Joka in 2018. While 8.50km stretch of the project being built elevated, the rest 6.32km is underground. The network will be extended further to Diamond Park, which is 3.39km far from Joka via IIM.
Several parameters like speed check, time taken between stations and various safety-related issues were checked during the trials before the inspection, the Metro Railway official said.
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There are six stations in the first phase of the line – Joka, Thakurpukur, Sakherbazar, Behala Chowrasta, Behala Bazar and Taratala. Work is underway for the remaining part of the line, which will eventually connect Esplanade at the heart of the city to the southwestern suburbs.
At Esplanade, the Joka Line will meet the North-South corridor and the East-West Metro, according to the plan. Construction of Taratala to Esplanade section of the metro is still going on. The metro network is being built in two phases, from Joka to Majerhar and from Majerhat to Esplande.
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Metro services in Kolkata are at present available on two routes-the North-South Line between Dakshineswar and Kavi Subhas, and the East-West Line between Sealdah and Salt Lake Sector V.
