Incidents of a door opening on the wrong side of the platform in the Blue Line of the city Metro would soon be a story of the past. Country’s oldest Metro corridor is undergoing an upgrade to prevent the occurrence of such errors in the near future. As a part of the process, the authorities of Kolkata Metro Railway are taking initiatives to link the passenger information system (PIS) with train control management system (TCMS) in the NorthSouth Metro Corridor.

According to the city Metro, once this linking of two systems is complete, chances of accidental opening of the wrong side doors when the train is stationary at the platforms or any door of a train outside the platform area, would be completely nullified. A trial of linking the PIS and TCMS of a three-phase Metro rake (MR-416) was conducted in presence of general manager of city Metro railway P Udday Kumar Reddy, in the stretch between Dum Dum to Kavi Subhash Metro stations of the North-South corridor in both up and down directions on 16 August.

The doors could also not be opened while the trial rake was inside the tunnels or on the middle of the viaduct. Buoyed by the success of this trial, Metro Railway Authorities have decided to add this safety feature in all threephase rakes. The upgrade process is expected to be completed in two months, according to the authorities.

The initiative will ensure additional safety in the NorthSouth Corridor, according to the CPRO of the city Metro Kausik Mitra. Notably, the under-construction corridors of Kolkata Metro are to be fitted with communication based train control (CBTC) signaling system under which the door opening of rakes, signalling and braking mechanism would all be synchronized. With the CBTC system in place, there would be no chance of accidental door opening in all new corridors of Kolkata Metro, according to the CPRO.

Kavi Subhas-Beleghata stretch likely to be operational by December: GM If all goes as planned, the city commuters could see the addition of another Metro corridor by the end of this year. The city Metro railway is eying for the final commissioning of the stretch from Kavi Subhas to Beleghata of the Orange Line by December.

The Metro corridor from Kavi Subhash to Airport is being worked out in phases with the stretch till Ruby already receiving a nod from the commissioner of railway safety. The stretch beyond that is being readied now and work in the corridor in full swing is being carried out near Beleghata station. A trial of the traffic diversion has started.