Kolkata: East-West Metro’s Sealdah station opening date deferred – Times of India

KOLKATA: The inauguration of East-West Metro’s Sealdah extension has been postponed.
The authorities were eyeing a May 31 opening for the seventh stoppage of Kolkata’s Line 2 after the section received the crucial nod from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) on March 24. The approval from the CRS, the autonomous body under the ministry of civil aviation, which clears all new Metro lines in India, is valid for three months. If the stretch is not commissioned by June 24, Metro Railway will have to invite CRS to inspect the Sealdah section all over again.
“We were desperately hoping the Sealdah section would be launched on May 31. A deferred date will be nearer to the CRS’s validation deadline,” an engineer said.
“The date of inauguration of Sealdah Metro station will be intimated as and when it is finalized,” Metro Railway stated on Wednesday. The opening has been postponed as the month-end date has reportedly coincided with an event observing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s eight years in office.
The Railway Board reportedly sent verbal instructions to officials in Kolkata to start preparations for a May-31 Sealdah opening. A meeting among ER, KMRC and other agencies was held on Tuesday. But on Wednesday, railway ministry officials informed that railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw could be in town on the date, but the inauguration had been put on hold as it coincided with events to observe PM Modi’s eight years in office.