RailEnquiry

KOLKATA: With the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) planning to extend the East-West Metro corridor to Dum Dum, the city's airport is set to become the biggest Metro junction where at least four routes will be aligned. Already, three routes - the Tollygunge-Dum Dum, New Garia-airport and the Barasat-airport one - have been aligned to converge at the airport.As of now, Sector V is the terminal station on the eastern end of the East-West corridor. For the railways, it is a dead-end since Sector V is not connected with any railway link. After acquiring majority stake (74%) of the East-West Metro, the railways now wants to connect it with other networks. According to minister of state for railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the East-West network will have a logical conclusion only if it is connected with the airport and other Metro networks.Earlier, the West Bengal government and the union urban development ministry were holding 50-50 equity of the project. On the request of the state's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the union government got cabinet decision to tranfer the state government's stake to the railway. It was also decided that the urban development ministry would also tranfer it 24 per cent stake to the railway to give it administrative control of the KMRC.After inaugurating the Phoolbagan-Sealdah cross-over, Chowdhury had said that it would be myopic not to take the corridor to the airport. "Funds cannot be allocated after the completion of the project. So we have to think how the utility of the project can be maximized, taking into account all transportation demands" he added.

In fact, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation had earlier studied the airport alignment for the East-West corridor. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) - principal funding agency - was also keen to extend it to the airport and planned to arrange Rs 800 crore more than the current project cost. Even Japanese consultants had submitted a report in favour of the alignment. But later, the extension plan was shelved owing to massive cost escalation.

The elevated stretch of the 6.5-km alignment might run along the Bagjola canal, go underground from near the airport hotel and finally terminate below the integrated terminal building, just like other Metro corridors. Metro commuters will need to use escalators to reach the security-check zone on the surface. However, the gauge difference between the East-West metro (standard gauge) and other Metros (broad gauge) would prevent from convergence of the alignments.

A study by the transport department had emphasized on a mass rapid transit (MRT) connectivity of the airport with rest of the city. Currently, the annual passenger handling capacity of the two terminals stands at 6 million. Once the integrated building becomes operational, it will jump to 20 million. While 6,000 private cars and taxis now ply to and from the airport daily, the figure will go up to 24,000 after the modernization. The MRTs can take a lot of pressure off the passenger-dispersal system. Though airports in other metropolitan cities are linked with an efficient mass rapid transit system, Kolkata still remains an exception.