After crossing several hurdles, the East-West Metro is scheduled to trundle out along its tracks for its first commercial journey on 13 February, tentatively. The much awaited maiden journey will cover a short distance from Salt Lake V to the Salt Lake stadium, en route, this latest surface transport will pass though Sector V, Karunamoyee, Central Park, City Centre, Bengal Chemical and Salt Lake Stadium.
As per the fare chart issued by the metro authorities in last year February, the minimum fare in this part of the metro will be Rs 5 for 2 km and the maximum fare will be Rs 30. The project is ready for inauguration since December, according to sources in metro railway. However, due to the widespread protests in the state against Citizenship Amendment Act which was followed by change of general managers of metro railway, the inauguration of the six stations was delayed by a few weeks, sources in metro railway said.
“The Railway Board had been approached for the nearest date as the grace period from the commissioner of railway safety was valid only till the end of February,” pointed out an official. “Considering the fact, a communication on the inauguration has been received from the board today. However, the details of dignitaries and other details are yet to be known,” he added. According to the Chief Public Relations Officer of Kolkata Metro, the services along the first phase of the Line-2 will be run at an interval of 20 minutes.
Unlike the existing north-south corridor, the first service of the day in Line-2 will start at 8am and the last one will also be run at 8pm. Of the 14 rakes requisitioned from BEML in Bangalore, at least nine rakes, according to sources, have arrived in the city and are to be operated in Phase-I of Line-2 Metro. As the six stations of the first phase are most likely to be inaugurated within a fortnight, the metro authorities are now gearing up to proceed with the inspection by the commissioner of railway safety.
“The Phool Bagan Metro is yet to undergo an inspection by the CRS. We are making preparations in that part of the stretch to be able to approach the commissioner of railway safety for an inspection,” said an official.