Kolkata, Jan 21 (IANS): Metro Railway (MR), Kolkata, covered a major milestone towards the completion of the East-West Corridor or Green Line between Salt Lake Sector-V and Howrah Maidan on Tuesday by successfully conducting the first trial run through the west-bound tunnel between the Sealdah and Esplanade stations.

P Uday Kumar Reddy, general manager, MR and chairman, Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRCL), was present in the motorman's cabin for the 11 minutes that it took the rake to cover the distance.

The run time will be much less once commercial services start after due clearances from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) and the Ministry of Railways. This is expected to happen in the next few months. The Green Line now runs truncated services between Salt Lake Sector-V and Sealdah and Howrah Maidan and Esplanade.

Work on the 2.63 km stretch between Sealdah and Esplanade got delayed due to subsidence in the Bowbazar area. MR and KMRCL have overcome this hurdle by using advanced technology.

Incidentally, MR's Green Line is India's first underwater Metro link. It passes under River Hooghly/Ganga between Mahakaran and Howrah station (part of the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch).

Commercial services on this link were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2024. The Green Line is also the first Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), connecting the twin cities Kolkata and Howrah, with the potential to extend to the suburbs along Hooghly's west bank.

"The trial run started from Sealdah at 11.20 am and ended at Esplanade at 11.31 am. The rake was then sent back to Sealdah through the west-bound tunnel. Trials for the east-bound tunnel have already been completed. This tunnel is now used routinely for the exchange of rakes. Rakes used for commercial services in the Esplanade-Howrah Maidan stretch go back to the depot at Salt Lake for maintenance, as and when required. Replacement rakes are then sent through this tunnel to Esplanade from Salt Lake," a senior MR official said.

Reddy convened a meeting of senior officials at the Esplanade station after the completion of the trial run. During the meeting, he congratulated all officials of MR and KMRCL for their efforts, asking them to start preparing for the start of commercial services that are expected to witness a rush of commuters.