After 25 years, Kolkata Metro rake rolls into an underground station

KOLKATA: East-West Metro on Friday achieved a major milestone with a rake rolling into the Phoolbagan station, 17m below the surface. The last time Kolkata witnessed an underground trial run for Metro was 25 years ago.

The entire team, comprising officials from Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) and ITD ITD-Cementation, was present to celebrate the occasion. KMRC is implementing the 16km East-West Metro corridor from Sector V to Howrah Maidan while ITD ITD-Cementation is executing the Phoolbagan station and part of the tunnelling.
For the last year, trials were conducted above ground along the Sector V-Salt Lake stadium section for a truncated end-June or early-July commissioning. But KMRC intends to extend the commercial services to Phoolbagan station in September.
Phoolbagan is the first underground station along the 16km route. The last time a Metro rake made its debut underground journey for a trail run, it was at the north-south line’s MG Road Station, which was the city’s last subterranean Metro station that started operating in September 1995.
“It’s a huge achievement for us. It’s certainly a major challenge steering a train underground,” said KMRC chief engineer Biswanath Diwanjee, waiting inside Phoolbagan station for the BEML-made rake to enter.
But before the train could enter the station, the third rail had to be powered. Before energizing the third rail, which is a method of providing electricity to power the rapid transit system through a conductor mounted alongside the tracks, safety clearances were mandatory. A foot-patrol began at 8am and continued for over two hours to check 9km of tracks from Sector V to Sealdah West, where the tracks make a ‘Y’ for the train to return. Anup K Kundu, KMRC’s director, rolling stock, was waiting at the Central Park depot with his team of engineers to drive into Phoolbagan station.
It was thanks to Kundu that the Chinese company supplying the key equipment for power connection to the tracks between Salt Lake Stadium and Phoolbagan stations was made to fly in the cargo instead of shipping it. The delay caused by shipping the equipment would have pushed back the Phoolbagan extension to December.
As the train pulled in, mediapersons, officials and engineers negotiated the platform screen gates — which are yet to be synchronized — to board one of the state-of-the-art rakes that can now duck the Subhas Sarovar crossover to ply on the underground tracks to Phoolbagan, and on to Sealdah East.