Kolkata’s East-West Metro Line In Trouble, Agency Struggles To Find Drivers To Operate Trains

The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) – the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by the Government of India to operate East-West Corridor of the city’s metro line – has run into trouble as it is unable to find drivers for the trains, reports The Telegraph. The East-West Corridor, also known as Line 2 is a 16.6 km-long line that runs from Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector 5.

Scheduled to open in October, the KMRC requires 16 drivers to operate its five rakes in its first phase. However, two of the drivers that were selected by the corporation have reported falling sick and have unofficially sought more clarity on the conditions of their employment. Railway officials have squarely blamed the prevalent work culture in West Bengal as the reason for not being able to find any drivers.

An option of transfer to the KMRC has also been offered to 35 drivers aged less than 45 of the Metro Rail Kolkata zone, but none of them opted for it which forced authorities to pick the two men who were asked to join the KMRC immediately and head to Bengaluru for training.

Kolkata’s metro rail operations vastly differ from the operations of metro projects across India. While the newer lines are being built by an SPV like most other cities, the original line – the North-South Corridor from Naopara to Kavi Subhash – operates as a zone of the Indian Railways.