West Bengal
Arjun Brij
Apr 24, 2025, 04:23 PM | Updated 04:23 PM IST
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Metro Railway Kolkata has announced the temporary suspension of services between Howrah Maidan and Sector V in Salt Lake from 26 to 28 April.
The shutdown will facilitate critical testing of the Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) system, a modern signalling and automation technology, PTI reported.
“There will be a complete traffic block from Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector V of Green Line from April 26 (Saturday) to April 28 (Monday) in connection with testing of Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) system over the entire green line and inspection for commissioning of Esplanade-Sealdah Section,” said a Metro Railway statement issued on Wednesday (23 April).
The advanced CBTC system is essential for seamless, driverless operations and real-time train control, marking a significant leap in Kolkata’s metro infrastructure.
The shutdown also includes the closure of the inter-connecting subway between Sealdah Metro station and Sealdah station of Eastern Railway for the same duration.
“Due to this traffic block, special Metro service in Green Line-2 after the IPL match of Kolkata Knight Riders, which will be played at Eden Gardens on April 26 (Saturday) night, will not be available. However, the special Metro services in Blue Line (Dakshineswar-New Garia) after the match will be available,” statement added.
Currently, truncated Metro services are operating in two parts of the Green Line: Howrah Maidan to Esplanade and Sealdah to Sector V, following a ground cave-in incident at Bowbazar in 2018 that delayed full-scale operations.
A Metro Railway spokesperson confirmed that the entire 16.6 km stretch will be opened soon, subject to inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) and final clearance from the Railway Ministry.
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Arjun Brij is an Editorial Associate at Swarajya. He tweets at @arjun_brij