Kolkata: The Beleghata-Sector V stretch of New Garia-Airport Metro will be ready by the end of Dec or the first week of Jan, the general manager of Metro Railway has promised.“We are confident we will be able to complete the stretch between Beleghata and Sector V by end of Dec or first week of Jan,” GM Prem Sagar Gupta told TOI on Friday. However, he denied reports that Metro has written to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for a Dec 17 inauguration of the stretch.Sources in Metro Railway said the trial run on the stretch was underway and it was too early to seek PM’s time for the inauguration. The buzz about PMO started after CM Suvendu Adhikari on Monday urged railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to invite PM Narendra Modi to unveil the 4.5-km Beleghata-IT Centre stretch (Sector V) by Dec, when the city is set to host the 32nd Kolkata International Film Festival.Vaishnaw responded by saying that the project “from Beleghata to IT Centre has been completed and is being connected to the Green Line”. “Once the trial run is over, I’ll request the PM to inaugurate it,” the railway minister said.Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) is executing the project while Metro Railway Kolkata is responsible for operations once passenger services begin on a completed stretch.Railway sources said the trial run for Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) system is underway and is most likely to continue for the whole or most of Nov. “Once engineers and officials are satisfied with the trial run, the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) will be invited for inspection of the stretch. CRS may recommend some measures that will be complied with. Following their implementation, CRS will give a nod that passenger services can start,” said a railway official.The first trial run on Orange Line between Beleghata and IT Centre (Sector V) was conducted on Mahalaya, Oct 10, in the morning.Orange Line (Kavi Subhas-Airport) is now operational over a 9-km stretch between Kavi Subhas and Beleghata stations. Once trains start running till Sector V, Orange Line will be operational on a stretch spanning more than 15 km. “Three new stations will be added to the network — Gour Kishore Ghosh, Nalban and Sector V,” said an official.Once open till Sector V, the passenger count on Orange Line is expected to witness a sharp rise. Many Sector V and New Town-bound employees will be able to use the metro instead of private transport. “It takes me more than an hour to reach Sector V from my home near South City Mall. Driving on congested roads is also stressful,” said a daily commuter.
