Orange Line may skip a stn till Chingrighata gets underpass

Kolkata: To break the logjam over the viaduct construction at Chingrighata and address the police's concerns over crowding at the spot once the metro station proposed there becomes operational, Metro Railway has offered not to operate the Gour Kishore Ghosh station at Chingrighata until the underpass is constructed. Metro Railway has also revised its earlier request for a closure over two weekends to bridge the viaduct gap at Chingrighata and instead sought a nine-hour window to allow the girder launch across the intersection.All three metro stations — Gour Kishore Ghosh, Nalban (at Nicco Park) and IT Centre (Sector V) — in the Metropolitan-Sector V section are ready for use as Metro Railway planned to open the Orange Line's 8 km Ruby-Sector V stretch in June 2025. The plan couldn't be executed, and only a 4.4 km Ruby-Beleghata section was flagged off by PM Narendra Modi last Friday. The NOC from the police for girder-launching over Chingrighata has been pending since Feb 2."To overcome the impasse, Metro has proposed that it will not operate the Gour Kishore Ghosh station until a pedestrian subway is built at the Chingrighata crossing, and trains will pass the station without stopping. The police have been requested to issue the NOC for girder-launching over Chingrighata. It will take only nine hours to launch the girder over the crossing," a Railways official said.Among the three new metro lines added in Kolkata last week was the Orange Line's Phase II or the 4.4 km Ruby-Metropolitan (Beleghata station) with four new stations. The now 10km corridor from New Garia (Kavi Subhash) to Metropolitan is barely pulling 2,500 passengers every day.Orange Line's implementing agency, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), foresaw a lack of passenger interest in the corridor on EM Bypass and, therefore, planned Orange Line's Phase II from Ruby to Sector V, covering 8 km. Orange Line meets the Green Line at Sector V, which is the city's IT hub. Scores of people travel to Sector V from all over the city and the districts every day.On Wednesday, Metro Railway sent a letter that read: "The state govt in its affidavit has said that due to the metro (station), the pedestrian congestion will increase at the Chingrighata section. It is pointed out that due to the metro's running, vehicular and pedestrian congestion at the junction will considerably reduce. However, as the state govt opines that pedestrian congestion will take place, Metro Railway will not operate the Gour Kishore Ghosh metro station until a pedestrian subway is built and the train will ‘run through' the station. Hence an NOC can be granted immediately."