Kolkata Metro Line 6

Kolkata Metro Line 6 or the Orange Line of the Kolkata Metro, in the Indian state of West Bengal, is a rapid transit line that will connect New Garia with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport via two satellite towns Salt Lake and New Town. It currently operates between Kavi Subhash and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay. This stretch will be one of the most important stretches of the metro because it will connect the southern and the eastern parts of the city with Kolkata Airport. The total distance of this route will be 29.87 km (18.56 mi).^[1]

Kolkata Metro Line 6 Biman Bandar - Kavi Subhash
Entry at Kavi Sukanta metro station
Overview
Other name(s)	New Town metro Airport Metro Bypass Metro
Status	Operational
Owner	Metro Railway, Kolkata
Line number	6
Locale	Kolkata metropolitan area, India
Termini	Kavi Subhash (south) Biman Bandar (north)
Connecting lines	Blue Line Green Line Yellow Line
Stations	24
Website	mtp.indianrailways.gov.in
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Kolkata Metro
Operator(s)	Metro Railway, Kolkata
Depot(s)	NSCBI Airport (under construction) New Garia New Town (under construction)
Rolling stock	3
Daily ridership	500,000 (projected)
History
Opened	6 March 2024; 12 days ago (2024-03-06)
Last extension	6 March 2024; 12 days ago (2024-03-06)
Technical
Line length	29.87 kilometres (18.56 mi)^[1] 5.4 kilometres (3.4 mi)(Operational)^[2]
Number of tracks	2
Character	Surface – 1 Underground – 1 Elevated – 22
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Electrification	750 V DC^[3] using third rail
Operating speed	80 km/h (designed)
Signalling	Communications-based train control
Route map Legend Sealdah South New Garia Depot Kavi Subhash Blue Line Blue Line (Line 1) Sealdah South Satyajit Ray Jyotirindra Nandi Panchanangram Canal Kavi Sukanta Rashbehari Avenue Hemanta Mukhopadhyay VIP Bazaar Ritwik Ghatak Storm Water Outlet Canal Barun Sengupta Beliaghata Captain Bhery Eastern Metropolitan Bypass Gour Kishore Ghosh Nicco Park 3rd Avenue IT Centre Green Line Green Line (Line 2) Technopolis Keshtopur Canal Bidhannagar Sub CBD 1 CBD 1 Keshtopur Canal CBD 2 Newtown Convention Centre Sub CBD 2 Titumir Rajarhat Road Rabindra Tirtha VIP Road Yellow Line (Line 4) Biman Bandar Yellow Line Airport Depot Yellow Line (Line 4)

The trials of the 5.4 km (3.4 mi) Kavi Subhas-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay station at Ruby crossing segment was covered in eight minutes without stoppages. The speed trials for the East-West Metro during the CRS inspection in 2019 had been at 80 km/h (50 mph).^[4] It connects Line 1 at Kavi Subhash and will eventually connect Lines 2 and 4.

History

This project was sanctioned in the budget of 2010–11 by Mamata Banerjee with a project deadline of six years.^[5] The execution of this project has been entrusted to RVNL at a cost of Rs 3951.98 crore. It will help to reduce travel time between the southern fringes of Kolkata to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport and will have 23 elevated stations, 1 underground station and 1 at-grade. The terminal Airport station being the underground one.

Work for construction of the terminal station at New Garia for the 29.87 km (18.56 mi) Kavi Subhash-Biman Bandar (via Rajarhat) metro project finally resumed on 14 February 2017 with Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) demarcating the plot they require for the purpose.

The work has been delayed for years due to multiple issues. At first AAI objected the station above the ground, stating that this could be a threat for air traffic. Many underground utilities, power sub-station and water treatment plant had to be shifted. Encroachments and Land acquisition problems held up the project for multiple times.

The 5 km (3.1 mi) stretch from New Garia to Ruby Hospital was expected to start from 2018.^[6] As of now, the station and associated metro viaduct connections are fully completed with trail runs being conducted over this and other phase 1 stations. RVNL planned to launch the metro over this truncated route before this year's Durga Puja, but was postponed due to signalling issues.^[7]

After lot of hardships and developmental work, the Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section of Kolkata Metro Line 6 was inaugurated on 6 March 2024 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the truncated sections of Taratala-Majerhat under Line 3 and Esplanade-Howrah Maidan under Line 2.^[8] A week later after inauguration and a day after commercial run started on Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section, RVNL announced the completion a 76 m viaduct gap after construction of a single-span hanging steel bridge over Tagore Park culvert. This completed the viaduct upto Beliaghata metro station.^[9]

Route

 

The stations are named after eminent Bengali personalities.^[5][10][11] and will have 22 elevated stations, 1 underground station and 1 at-grade. The terminal Airport station will be the underground one. This station will also have a yard and it will be the largest underground facility of India and city's first. It will be 550 m (1,800 ft) long and 41.6 m (136 ft) wide and will facilitate stabling and reversal of rakes, but it will not be a carshed. One can interchange to Line 4 at Dum Dum Airport, Line 2 at VIP Road (Haldiram) and Salt Lake Sector V and Line 1 at Kavi Subhash. At Kavi Subhash, Rail Interchange will be also available (Sealdah South Section).

On 4 January 2021 the state government decided to rename 9 metro stations in New Town area to their more prevailing names rather than using the old ones which were given during the planning phase. The state transport department has informed Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) of the new names of the proposed nine metro stations between Nazrul Tirtha at the entry of New Town from Salt Lake Sector V till Chinar Park, the last station on the line before it turns right on VIP road towards Kolkata Airport.^[12]

Line 6 (Orange Line)^[13]
No.	Station name		Location	Phase	Opening	Connections	Layout	Notes
	English	Bengali
1	Jai Hind (NSCBI Airport)	জয় হিন্দ	NSCB International Airport	4	Under construction	(Under construction) Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport   Airport AC Bus Stand   Airport Gate No. 1 Bus Stop   Airport Gate No. 2 Bus Stop   Airport Gate No. 2.5 Bus Stop   Airport Gate No. 3 Bus Stop	Underground
2	VIP Road	ভি আই পি রোড	Teghoria			(Planned)   Minibus Stand   Haldiram Bus Stop	Elevated
3	Chinar Park (Rajarhat Road)	চিনার পার্ক	New Town
4	City Centre-2	সিটি সেন্টার-২
5	Mangaldeep	মঙ্গলদীপ						Also known as Akanksha 5-point crossing
6	Eco Park	ইকো পার্ক						Also known as Nawabpur
7	Mother's Wax Museum	মাদার্স ওয়াক্স মিউজিয়াম
8	Shiksha Tirtha	শিক্ষা তীর্থ						Also known as Kala Kshetra
9	Biswa Bangla Convention Centre	বিশ্ব বাংলা কনভেনশন সেন্টার						Also known as Narkelbagan / Rabindra Tirtha
10	Swapnabhor	স্বপ্ন ভোর
11	Nazrul Tirtha	নজরুল তীর্থ						Also known as Newtown Bus Stand
12	Nabadiganta	নবদিগন্ত	Salt Lake					Also known as Bidhannagar Limit
13	IT Centre	আই টি সেন্টার		3		Salt Lake Sector-V   Wipro Bus Stop   Saltlake Bus Depot   Karunamoyee Bus Station(WBTC,CTC,SBSTC,NBSTC)		Located near IT Hub of Kolkata
14	Nalban	নলবন						Serving Nicco Park
15	Gour Kishore Ghosh (Chingrighata)	গৌর কিশোর ঘোষ						Also known as Chingrighata / Sukanta Nagar
16	Beleghata	বেলেঘাটা	Metropolitan					Also known as Tangra Metropolitan Township
17	Barun Sengupta (Science City)	বরুণ সেনগুপ্ত	Dhapa/Mathpukur	2				Also known as Metropolitan
18	Ritwik Ghatak (Bantala Road)	ঋত্বিক ঘটক	Uttar Panchanagram
19	VIP Bazar	ভি আই পি বাজার	VIP Bazar
20	Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (Ruby Hospital)	হেমন্ত মুখোপাধ্যায়	Ruby Island	1	15 March 2024		Elevated	Also known as Kasba Golpark / East Kolkata Township
21	Kavi Sukanta (Kalikapur)	কবি সুকান্ত	Kalikapur
22	Jyotirindra Nandi (Mukundpur)	জ্যোতিরিন্দ্র নন্দী	Mukundapur					Also known as Singhbari
23	Satyajit Ray	সত্যজিৎ রায়	SRFTI / Hiland Park			Bengal Ambuja Bus Stop   Hiland Park Bus Stop   Peerless Hospital Bus Stop		Also known as Chak Garia / Ajoy Nagar
24	Kavi Subhash (New Garia)	কবি সুভাষ	New Garia		7 October 2010	(Operational)   New Garia Station   New Garia Station Bus Stand	At Grade

See also

 

Line 2 and 6 under construction at Salt Lake Sector V, November 2017

• Kolkata Metro
• List of Kolkata Metro stations
• Kolkata Metro rolling stock
• Lists of rapid transit systems
• Trams in Kolkata
• Kolkata Light Rail Transit
• Kolkata Monorail
• Kolkata Suburban Railway

References

1. "New System Map of Kolkata Metro".
2. "In addition to the underwater metro, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Kavi Subhash - Hemanta Mukhopadhyay Metro section".
3. "CAF to supply Kolkata metro trains".
4. "Ruby-New Garia trial clocks 83kmph speed". The Times of India. 22 January 2023.
5. . The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 8 February 2011. Archived from the original on 13 February 2011.
6. "Metro sets June 2018 date for New Garia-Ruby line". The Times of India.
7. Staff Reporter (25 August 2023). "Successful Speed Trial Conducted on Hemanta Mukhopadhyay-Kavi Subhas Metro Stretch". Metro Rail News. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
8. "Hope for ops start of three new Metro links in March first week". The Times of India. 19 February 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
9. "Traffic starts moving along Tagore Park western flank". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
10. "New Garia to Biman Bandar via Rajarhat Metro extension".
11. "Kolkata Metro Line 6".
12. Mondal, Biswadeep (4 January 2021). "West Bengal govt renames nine New Town Metro stations". Times of India.
13. "Metro Railway Kolkata / Indian Railways Portal". mtp.indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 7 March 2024.

External links