RAILWAY SAMACHAR

One More "Netaji Subhash"

Pre-Puja gift for Kolkata

Kolkata : July 18 : Metro Rail will outgrow Tollygunge Station on August 23, thundering southwards from the current terminus that will be renamed after Uttam Kumar.

The extension towards Garia — described by railway minister Mamata Banerjee as “a Puja gift” — will initially take Metro Rail another 6km till Birji, 2.5km short of the New Garia Station. “There is a problem of alignment for these two kilometres, which we hope to resolve soon,” Mamata said.

“Uttam Kumar used to shoot at the studios of Tollygunge. It is our tribute to him,” she said, referring to the rechristening. All the five operating stations on the stretch would be named after icons of Bengal (see chart).

One name on the list will make it imperative for commuters to utter the full name of two stations to avoid confusion while buying tickets. The Kudghat Station will be called Netaji Subhas, a prefix it will share with Netaji Bhavan (Bhowanipore).

Of the six new stations, five will be elevated — bringing the Calcutta Metro overground between stations as in Delhi.

The extension will mean that Tollygunge will lose its unique status as the oldest serving terminus of the Metro. Metro services had begun on October 24, 1984, between Esplanade and Bhowanipore.

On April 29, 1986, the services were extended to Tollygunge, which has continued as the terminus at the southern end till now. Esplanade lost its terminus status in 1995 when the services to the north started and Dum Dum eventually became the last stop at that end.

It will also mean that the taped announcement about Tollygunge being the “prantik” (terminal) station will have to be re-recorded.

“This (the Metro extension) is my Puja gift to the people of Bengal. The expansion started when I was railway minister and I am happy that it can be commissioned during my second tenure,” she added.

The Garia expansion project was scheduled to be completed in 2007 but faced an encroachment hurdle and was delayed by two years.

Ladies special

Mamata also announced that the first ladies’ special local train would start from Howrah on Monday. Officials said that initially, two would run between Howrah and Bandel during the morning peak hours and again in the evening.

Duranta Express, the series of non-stop long-distance trains announced in the rail budget, will start plying from the city in August. Initially, one train will connect Howrah and Mumbai and another Calcutta Station (Chitpur) and Delhi.

These trains will have only operational stops to facilitate change of engines.