jis1@ahuta.UUCP (j.mukerji) (02/10/85)
For the last 12 years the on again off again underground railway system in Calcutta, India had been taking shape. At last after numerous delays, two sections of the system were thrown open for the public late in October '84, and they are running with ever increasing ridership since then. The system when completed will consist of 16.43km of third rail electrified double track running through concrete box tunnels most of the way. There will be 17 stations on the system. All the stations that are underground are fully air-conditioned. This is an absolute necessity for survival underground in the humid heat of Calcutta summer. Upon completion the system is slated to carry upto 60000 people per hour in the rush hours, with trains running on a 90sec headway. The daily traffic on the system is expected to be 1.7million transit riders in 1988. The sections that have been opened to service are: (1) Dum Dum to Belgachia (2 stations, 2.25km), opened 12th November, 1984, mostly elevated along the Sealdah-Dum Dum main line. A little bit under ground. This section is likely to be extended to Shyambazar in the near future (another 1.5km). The work on this section is nearing completion. This section has the only driven shield tunnel that has been completed in the project so far. (2) Esplanade to Bhowanipore (5 stations, 4km) opened 24th October 1984, all underground, running under the Maidan, Chowrunghee and Ashutosh Mukherjee Road. The section from Bhowanipur to the southern terminus of the line at Talliganj (another 5km) is likely to be opened for public service in 1st quarter '86. The tunnel laying work is done, track and signal laying work is in progress. The section that is going to be delayed over two years is between Shyambazar and Espalande. Apparently, the cut and cover technique that the Russian consultants had proposed for laying this section has proved to be unworkable. This has caused a change of consultants, the Russians being replaced by Japanese consultants. Now they are using a combination of tube and diaphragm wall cut and cover. This has resulted in re-negotiation of all the construction contracts with the 8 construction companies involved. According to last reports, the new contracts have been concluded and work is to begin soon on the tunnelling work under Central Avenue. Most of this work will be done without disrupting traffic, unlike in the southern sections where even now some of the roads that were dug up are yet to be reconstructed. I had an opportunity to ride the Metro between Esplanade and Bhowanipore and back. This section has five stations, namely - Esplanade, Park Street, Maidan, Rabindra Sadan and Bhowanipore. The train takes about 8 minutes to travel from Esplanade to Bhowanipore including stops at the intermediate stations. The fare is Re. 1. any point to any point. The trains are comfertable. The seat layout in the trains are similar to that in the New York Subway, i.e. seats along the sides with lots of standing room in the center. The train sets consist of two four car sets joined together to form an eight car train. Each four car set has two motor coaches and two trailers (the middle two). The two end cars have drivers cabs, so that each for car set can be run separately if needed. Signalling is primarily based on cab-signalling with visual trackside repeaters. The cab-signalling hardware is developed and manufactured by ECIL (Electronics Corporation of India Limited) Hyderabad, and the train sets are designed and manufactured by ICF (Integral Coach Factory) Perambur. The track is ballastless, layed with continuous welded rails, fastened to the tunnel floor by pandrol clips on what appeared to be rubber chairs. The ride was very satisfactorily noise-free. The rails, I was told, were supplied by SAIL's (Steel Authority of India Limited) Bhilai Steel Plant. On the whole it looks and feels pretty good and ridership already is heavy, although the system is open for limited service at present. This incidentally, is the first underground railway system in India and the fourth in Asia. Jishnu Mukerji AT&T Information Systems Lab Holmdel NJ Ps. An article on the Calcutta Circular Railway Project next week.