Kolkata: Metro Railway hopes to extend Orange Line services up to the IT Centre station at Sector V by December 2026. Currently, trains on the New Garia-Airport corridor run from New Garia to Beleghata station at Metropolitan on E M Bypass. Work to fill a crucial 366-meter gap in the viaduct at the Chingrighata crossing will finally begin on Friday, which would facilitate the extension to Sector V, said an official.
Metro Official Confirms Timeline
"We are optimistic that train services may start between Metropolitan and Sector V by December 2026. The state is granting us permissions, which will help us complete all pending metro work," said S S Kannan, Chief Public Relations Officer of Metro Railway, on Thursday. "The long-awaited pending work at Chingrighata starts on Friday. In the first phase, a 60-hour traffic block will be in place from Friday 8 pm to Monday 8 am. The state has given us permission, and Kolkata Police has granted the traffic block. From May 22 to 25, there will be another 60-hour traffic block to launch the second segment. Police have assured us their support."
Details of the Construction Work
Two overhead concrete segments or girders will be placed to join piers 317 to 319 at the busy Chingrighata crossing in two phases over the next two weekends. This became possible after Kolkata Police issued a notification on Wednesday sanctioning traffic diversions at the spot on EM Bypass. This weekend, the work will involve placing concrete girders between piers 317 and 318 on the Ultadanga-bound flank of EM Bypass. In the second phase, starting next Friday, the girders will be placed between piers 318 and 319.
Since the viaduct work between Metropolitan and Sector V, barring the 366-meter stretch at Chingrighata, is almost complete, bridging this gap has become crucial to finish the corridor. This corridor is considered a vital link between the southern suburbs and Sector V, and subsequently, the airport. Given the delay in granting permission for the traffic block at Chingrighata, a Public Interest Litigation was filed in the High Court, which fixed February 2026 as the date for Kolkata Police to grant the block. However, the former Trinamool-led government moved the Supreme Court against the order. The Supreme Court ordered an immediate granting of the traffic block to facilitate the metro work, stating that it was being executed with public money.
Even on Monday, police said that only night-long blocks would be available from 10 pm to 7 am from Friday to Sunday. But RVNL presented a report by IIT-Kharagpur and said that 60-hour blocks on two weekends would be needed instead of 27-hour blocks for two weekends to ensure stronger construction and safety for vehicles and people on the road.
