Kolkata Metro suspends Sunday services for testing

Metro Railway in Kolkata will stop services on the East-West Metro corridor every Sunday starting March 23. This is to conduct tests on the Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) system. Trains will not run on the Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector V route on those Sundays until further notice. This decision follows earlier service suspensions on March 8 and 9, which were also for testing the CBTC system. These two days marked the third suspension since February. The goal is to improve the signaling and communication systems on the corridor. The Metro will have a complete traffic block every Sunday for these tests. Metro officials say this will help assess the entire stretch of the Green Line from Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector V. The system is being tested after tunneling work was completed between Esplanade and Sealdah stations. Currently, trains are operating on two separate sections: from Sector 5 to Sealdah and from Esplanade to Howrah Maidan. The Esplanade-Sealdah segment, which is 2.5 kilometers long, has not started yet due to previous issues. These setbacks include a cave-in at Bowbazar in 2019 that was caused by a boring machine striking an aquifer, resulting in water seepage.