Kolkata News: The Kolkata Metro has announced that trains will not run between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade on August 3, as they will be testing the Automatic
Train Operation (ATO) system on that day. However, regular Metro services will continue as usual along the North-South corridor, from Dakshineswar to Shahid Khudiram stations, a Metro spokesperson said. Since January, officials have carried out several trial runs between Esplanade and Sealdah to test the new signalling system. They also temporarily stopped trains twice between Sealdah and Sector V to check how well the system works, reported ANI. The Commissioner of Railway Safety has now approved the Sealdah–Esplanade section for operation. This stretch had been delayed due to a major tunnelling accident in Bowbazar in 2019, where an aquifer burst and caused the ground to sink. Because of this, Metro services along the full East-West corridor could not start, and trains are currently running only on two separate stretches — Howrah Maidan to Esplanade, and Sealdah to Sector V. There were hopes that trains would run on the full route by July, but Metro officials say the final decision will come from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The East-West Metro in Kolkata, which is India’s first Metro to run under a river, is currently running in two separate parts: - One part (4.8 km) runs between Howrah and Esplanade, going under the Hooghly River. - The other part (9.2 km) runs between Sector V and Sealdah. The middle stretch — between Esplanade and Sealdah (2.5 km) — had delays due to ground sinking issues (called subsidence) since 2019. However, this section is now ready and has been approved by the safety authorities to start passenger services. Once this section opens, the entire East-West Metro route can operate as a single line, reported TOI.
