Kolkata Metro’s Kavi Subhash Station To Be Demolished And Rebuilt, Services To Be Hit For A Year

Commuters in Kolkata will face a prolonged disruption as the Kavi Subhash metro station, the southern terminal of the Blue Line, is set to be demolished and rebuilt after engineers discovered irreparable cracks in its supporting columns, reported Times of India.

A senior Metro Railway official confirmed on Tuesday that dismantling work has already begun, with signal and telecom equipment being removed.

This follows Monday’s sudden shutdown of the station and the termination of services at Sahid Khudiram.

“The station's piers or columns on which the platform stands have weakened beyond repair. If the pillars are to be dismantled, how can the station remain? The entire Kavi Subhash station will have to be rebuilt,” Metro Railway general manager P Uday Kumar Reddy was quoted as saying.

He added that while plans had been in place to address constructional flaws after Durga Puja, the situation was hastened by heavy rainfall that likely caused ground subsidence.

“Therefore, the work has to be taken up without further delay,” Reddy noted.

Officials confirmed this is the first time in Kolkata Metro’s history that a station is being dismantled and rebuilt.

The Blue Line, stretching 32 km from Dakshineswar to New Garia, ferries nearly six lakh passengers daily and has long been considered the city’s lifeline.

The line's southern extension to Kavi Subhash opened in October 2010.

Subhasis Sengupta, vice-president of the INTTUC-affiliated Metro Railway Progotisil Shramik Karmachari Union, remarked that structural flaws at Kavi Subhash had been known for years.

“The station's overhaul has been long overdue because the authorities have been aware of the structural issues,” he said.

Tendering for the rebuilding work is already underway.

Reddy assured passengers that “our utmost priority is passenger safety and security… We shall also try our best to get the work completed as quickly as possible.”

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