Metro commuters travelling in the underwater stretch of the Green Line 2 might have to explore other options of availing a journey in the route next Sunday. The Kolkata Metro Railway has decided to cancel commercial operations in the Green Line including 1 and 2 on 19 January for intensive signalling work in the remaining stretch of the East-West Metro Corridor.

After a series of mishaps at Bowbazar, the implementing agency of the project, Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) has finally been able to connect Sealdah Metro station with Esplanade Metro station. As learnt from official sources, electrical works pertaining to aluminium third rail is nearing completion and the signalling works commenced yesterday. The authorities have approached the electrical inspector for statutory EIG inspection of third rail work before charging the aluminium third rail. According to an official, the implementing agency is now to establish a CBTC signalling system for the entire corridor as a whole and complete, not as two separate corridors. An engineering expert in CBTC signalling of the city, explained, “Unlike works of rail track or tunnelling or third rail, where joining the missing link means completion of the job, but completion of CBTC work means making the entire route as a complete whole unit. At present the rakes operating in two parts are not communicating with each other. For example, rake standing at Sealdah Metro station is blind about the rake standing at Esplanade but fully aware about the rake standing at Phool Bagan station. Now the process of unifying two separate corridors into one has to be completed. After hardware installation for the missing link, unification of two corridors in terms of software, communication etc will commence.”

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As informed by a Metro spokesperson, the KMRCL has sought a forty-five days block to validate newly installed software train operations without carrying passengers and fine tuning of new software. “If any snag is noticed then the same reports shall be sent to overseas laboratories for fine tuning the software. Fine-tuned software will be reloaded and the cycle of verification will continue. Before commissioning of Green Line 1 of the 5-km stretch, five rakes were run for a total ten thousand kilometres for conducting one thousand plus trials to get third party certification of safe to operate. The KMRCL desires to conduct similar trials on the entire stretch with revised software, as for getting the approval, KMRCL has to establish a 100 per cent full proof system,” said the official. “We want innovative ideas to avoid the requirement of a long shutdown. We want commercial service and trials to go side by side. We have requested uploading revised software on Saturday night and conduct trial for two to three days and night and revert to existing software for commercial operation four / five days a week till new software becomes 100 per cent foolproof,” he added.