Metro Railway has expedited the construction of the Esplanade-Sealdah stretch, the only unfinished section of the East-West corridor (Green Line).

The carrier wants to finish civil engineering work in the west-bound (Howrah-bound) tunnel by this year-end and in the east-bound (Salt Lake-bound) tunnel by the first week of January.

After the civil engineering works are done the electrical and signalling work will be taken up. An inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), mandatory before commercial runs, is being planned in March.

The East-West corridor (Green Line) is now operational in two sections, between Sector V and Sealdah and between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade. The 2km section between Esplanade and Sealdah, more precisely a 200m stretch in Bowbazar, has now seen four incidents of water seepage since 2019.

The truncated services on the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of the corridor, which came into effect on Monday and has been leading to overcrowded trains and platforms, were necessary to expedite the construction in the Esplanade-Sealdah section, said engineers.

Metro general manager, P. Uday Kumar Reddy, inspected the Metro construction site at Bowbazar on October 22.

Following the inspection, Reddy asked the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, the implementing agency of the 16.5km corridor — which, once fully functional, will link Salt Lake Sector V and Howrah Maidan — to complete the section in this financial year (by March 31).

Following the prod, the managing director of KMRC sent a letter, dated October 28, to senior Metro officials, outlining an action plan for completing the section.

According to the plan, prepared in consultation with contractors, the agency is looking at:

• Completion of civil engineering work of west-bound track by December 15 and trolley inspection on December 25
• Completion of civil works of east-bound track by January 4 and trolley inspection onJanuary 7
• Completion of electrical work by January 31
• Completion of signalling work by March 15
• CRS inspection by the last week of March 2025

The KMRC had sought suspension of commercial services on the operational sections of East-West Metro to meet the targets, said sources.

They said the KMRC had asked for the suspension of commercial services between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade from November 12 until the commissioning of the complete corridor and for the suspension of services on the Sector V-Sealdah section from mid-January to February end.

But Metro Railway suggested truncated services instead of complete suspension.

The tweak came into effect from Monday. Two rakes have been kept on standby on the tracks between Esplanade and Mahakaran. A train is running between Mahakaran and Howrah Maidan on the west-bound tunnel. On the east-bound tunnel, another train is running the full course between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade.

The standby rakes will be pressed into commercial service after a fortnight, replacing the ones that are being used now.

There is no maintenance depot in the Esplanade-Howrah Maidan section. Two trains that are used for commercial runs are usually brought to the depot at Central Park via the east-bound tunnel after every fortnight. Two fresh trains are sent.

“But every time a train passes through the tunnel in the Esplanade-Sealdah section, we have to bring out steel props and other temporary support structures installed inside. That takes more than a day. The tracks have to be charged for the passage of trains. The civil engineering work gets hampered. We need unhindered access to the tunnel for fast-tracking the work,” said an engineer.

The first phase of signalling test in the east-bound tunnel started in June this year.

“Now, equipment installation is underway in the west-bound tunnel. Signalling tests are expected to begin in January,” said a Metro official.