A maintenance facility for Metro rakes has come up beside the carshed at New Garia (Kavi Subhash) station.
Metro rakes need periodic inspections to identify faulty components and to repair or replace them. The carshed at Noapara station is the major maintenance depot for the north-south corridor between New Garia and Dakshineswar, also known as the Blue Line.
A Metro official said the maintenance facility at New Garia will primarily cater to the trains that will run on the New Garia-Ruby section, which received a nod for commercial run from the railway safety boss earlier this month.
The New Garia-airport section is part of the New Garia-airport corridor, also called the Orange Line.
"When the Orange Line becomes operational, the number of rakes will go up at Kavi Subhash. Those will need maintenance. The new maintenance facility will cater to the needs of the Orange Line," said Kausik Mitra, the chief public relations officer of Metro Railway.
The carshed had only six stabling lines, for the north-south corridor. Which means six rakes could be parked there after the end of the day's commercial service.
"The new maintenance facility has an inspection bay and a lifting bay, besides stabling lines," said an official of the carrier.
An inspection bay is needed for periodic checks on a train. There is a pit where engineers and workers can get in to inspect the undercarriage of a rake. The two sides and the roof of a rake can also be checked in an inspection bay.
A lifting bay is needed to lift a coach, usually with the help of a crane, said the official.
The facility will also have a battery-powered engine to take a rake from one line or bay to another and a train washing plant.
A solar power plant on the roof of the shed will help reduce the carbon footprint, the official said.
Despite a clearance from the chief commissioner of railway safety, a possible date for the start of commercial run on the New Garia-Ruby stretch of the Orange Line has not yet been announced.
On February 8, a senior Metro official told this newspaper that some “minor issues" needed to be sorted out before commercial run could start on the stretch.
The same stretch had received a CRS (commissioner of railway safety) nod in February last year. That was for a "one train only system". It meant one train would start from New Garia, reach Ruby (Hemanta Mukhopadhyay) station and then head back towards New Garia.
But the carrier did not start the commercial run, apparently because they wanted to introduce an advanced signalling system — that would enable multiple trains to travel simultaneously — on the stretch.
On February 8, the Metro spokesperson said the latest nod was for a "one train only system" but with "electronic interlocking".
"It means two trains can run simultaneously, one in each direction. This is one step ahead of the earlier system," said a Metro official.
On the north-south corridor, which ferries over six lakh passengers every weekday, the operational fleet has 32 trains.
"Each train undergoes an extensive inspection once every three days," said a Metro engineer.