Freedom on one, football on another.
Each of the four Metro stations of the east-west line, which will be part of Kolkata’s everyday transport map from Friday, has a theme that finds expression in wall art.
Each theme is in sync with the location and its historical significance, said an official of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, the implementing agency of the 16.6km East-West Metro, which, once complete, will link Salt Lake Sector V and Howrah Maidan.
On the eve of the launch of commercial services on the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch of East-West Metro (Green Line), this newspaper takes you through the four stations in the section — Howrah Maidan, Howrah, Mahakaran and Esplanade.
All four stations have ramps, special ticket counters and toilets for the differently abled.
Services on two other lines — New Garia-Ruby and Taratala-Majerhat (Majerhat will be integrated to the Joka-Taratala link, which is operational) — will also begin on Friday.
All three sections were ceremonially inaugurated by the Prime Minister on March 6.
Howrah
Theme
The theme is “Gateway to Kolkata”. A wall painting shows the traditional dhunuchi dance during Durga Puja. Another shows a yellow taxi, a third celebrates the tram car.
“The paintings at the station tell different stories of Kolkata,” said Tamal Biswas, project manager of Afcons Infrastructure, which built the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch.
Features
At a little over 30m from the surface, the station is India’s deepest Metro station. With a floor area of just over 50,000sqm, it is also among the largest.
It shares boundaries with the Howrah railway station.
“The station’s depth was needed to align it with the underwater tunnels, which are around 40m deep,” said an Afcons official. “The floor area was needed to accommodate the rush-hour traffic, which, according to a RITES study, would be around 43,000,” the official said.
The depth meant that the flight of the stairs had to be broken at regular intervals. That has led to the station being divided in four layers — upper concourse, mechanical, lower concourse and platform.
The upper concourse has the ticketing area — 32 ticket counters and 39 automatic fare collection (AFC) gates. The mechanical level houses station control equipment. The lower concourse is the last stop before the platforms.
The ticketing area is spread over 11,000sqm.
In the north-south Metro, sources said, Esplanade, Shyambazar and Central have the widest concourses — around 7,000sqm.
There are four entry points to the station, which has 26 escalators and seven lifts.
Esplanade
This will be the interchange station between the east-west and north-south (Blue Line) corridors. The expected rush-hour passenger count is 38,000, said an official.
Theme
The wall art celebrates iconic places and popular food. The Victoria Memorial, a ground that resembles the Eden Gardens and another structure resembling the Birla Planetarium have made it to the walls.
Features
The station is spread across 30,000sqm. The Esplanade station of the north-south line has an area of 10,000sqm. There are three layers — ticketing area (upper concourse), lower concourse and platform. The station is 28m deep.
“This is a centralised air-conditioned station,” said Pinaki Mukherjee, project manager (Phoolbagan-Esplanade section) of ITD ITD-CEM, which is building this stretch of East-West Metro.
A subway links the stations of the Green and Blue Lines.
“The station has two access from the roads, 20 escalators, 12 ticket counters, 96
AFC gates, 26 staircases and eight elevators,” Mukherjee said.
The lower and upper concourses have been built to have some shops and cafes.
Howrah Maidan
Theme
The theme is sports. Football, cricket, badminton, tennis, archery and athletics, there is a slice of sports in every wall art at the station.
A wall art, which looks more like sculpted, has six sportspersons in action — a sprinter, a tennis player, a gymnast, a footballer, a pole-vaulter and a cricketer.
Features
Howrah Maidan, a terminal station, has an area of around 18,000sqm, said an Afcons official. The depth is around 15m from the surface.
There are two levels — concourse and platform. The station has two entry points, both on GT Road.
There are five ticket counters, eight AFC gates, three escalators and two lifts.
Mahakaran
Theme
The paintings celebrate “freedom struggle and heritage”. One depicts Subhas Chandra Bose on horseback. Another is like a collage of central Kolkata heritage buildings, such as the Writers’ Buildings, GPO and the Raj Bhavan.
Features
The station has an area of 26,000sqm and a depth of 22.8m from the surface. There are three levels — upper concourse, lower concourse and platform.
There are four entry points — near Writers’, BBD Bag, Lalbazar and Laldighi.