Metro Railway has sought 90m of land near Dakshineswar station from the state government to extend the viaduct in a bid to increase operational efficiency.
A train has to stop for a minute before entering Dakshineswar station. Of the 288 trains that run every weekday, 172 link New Garia in the south and Dakshineswar in the north (86 end at Dakshineswar and 86 start from there). The remaining connect New Garia and Dum Dum.
The cumulative delay is much more.
“Dakshineswar has a problem. There is a space constraint. There is no space after the platform ends. So, there is a speed restriction. We want to extend the length,” Metro general manager P. Uday Kumar Reddy said at a news conference.
“We are in talks with the state government. We have requested the government to grant us 90m of land. Once we get the land, we will extend the viaduct so that the speed curbs are lifted,” said Reddy.
Sources in the carrier said two more piers have to be built on the road below for the extension.
Trains usually move at an average speed of 55kmph on the Noapara-Dakshineswar stretch. But just before entering Dakshineswar, the train has to stop and de-accelerate and then start moving at 15kmph. This is done to minimise the risk of any accident.
There is a buffer at the end of the viaduct, in the form of an iron structure. It is barely 40m from where the platform ends.
“The board is built to be able to withstand a train moving at around 25kmph. So, after entering the station, the train moves the last stretch at a speed of 15kmph,” said a Metro official.
The proposed extension will translate to a safety length of around 130m, which is in keeping with the prevalent norms, said Metro officials.
After getting the land, a crossover point — where trains can switch tracks or change directions — will be built on the tracks.
“Now, a train has to switch tracks at a point before entering Dakshineswar. After the extension, a train will be able to switch tracks after entering the station,” the official said.
Reddy said Metro will widen the road below and modify the skywalk after getting hold of the land. “We will provide new avenues for passengers. It will be a win-win situation for all,” he said.
The skywalk is a 380m-long elevated pathway that links the suburban railway station and the Metro station in Dakshineswar with the Kali temple
Metro spokesperson Kausik Mitra told this newspaper that a letter was sent by the RVNL, the implementing agency of the Noapara-Dakshineswar section, to the CMDA in November, asking for 90m of land.
A CMDA official said: “We are examining if the land is available for us to hand over. The skywalk may come in the way. Engineers are examining all these issues.”
New rakes
Fifty-eight new rakes are expected to arrive over the next two years, said Reddy. Forty-five rakes will come from the Integral Coach Factory near Chennai and 13 from Dalian in China.