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Kolkata Airport-Barasat Metro Line Revived After Railway Board Agrees To Give More Funds For Underground Construction
A metro train at a platform in Kolkata. (Pic via Wikipedia)
The stalled Airport-Barasat Metro project has been brought back to life as the Railway Board has given its nod for construction to begin on the technically challenging 3.5 km stretch, reports The Telegraph. Additional funds of Rs 1,622 have also been approved for the metro line.
The original plan to construct elevated tracks till the airport had to be modified in favour of underground construction as airport authorities objected to an elevated viaduct being built so close to the landing zones for aircraft.
Another hurdle for the project has been the presence of 1,900 illegal structures along the stretch from Madhyamgram to Barasat. Larsen & Toubro was originally awarded the contract for this stretch but work never began due to the aforementioned issue.
Underground construction entails cost escalation by two-and-a-half times, with each km costing around Rs 500-600 crores. Metro Railway had sought the additional funds from the Railway board for the cost escalation, citing it as the main constraint.
The Railway board has now raised the budget for the project from Rs 3,207 crore to Rs 4829.57 crore, all but assuring that the project can start in earnest. The Airport-Barasat line is expected to be complete in another four years, and once it gets finished till New Barrackpore, will provide critical connectivity to Kolkata for the city’s northern suburbs.
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