Key Points:
- Railway Minister inaugurated Phoolbagan Metro Station in Kolkata.
- It is the first Underground Metro Station.
- 6 km is the distance between Salt Lake Sector-V to Howrah Maidan.
- The entire project is estimated to finish by December 2021.
On Sunday, 4th of October, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal virtually cut the ribbon of the Phoolbagan Station of Kolkata’s East West Metro corridor which is the extension of the line from Salt Lake Stadium. The length of the metro that connects Salt Lake Sector-V with Howrah Maidan is 16.6 km long.
The Official Press Release Of The Inauguration : https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1661606
Goyal, during his online speaking span said that, “The start of Metro services at Phoolbagan Station is a Durga Puja gift by the Railways for Kolkatans.”
Now, time taken to travel from Phoolbagan to Salt Lake Sector-5 by Metro will only be 16 minutes, as against more than 1 hour taken by road.
Movement from one part of Kolkata to another is now going to be faster & convenient with enhanced connectivity. pic.twitter.com/kHfUROYwU7
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) October 4, 2020
After flagging off the first train from the novel station to Salt Lake Sector-V, Goyal told that December 2021 will be the end of the entire stretch of the corridor.
Despite of the project being sanctioned in the year 2008, barely any work had initiated till 2015. Due to the personal attention that the project gained from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the plan was fast-tracked since 2015 as it had faced a lot of delays as a result of numerous issues.
Projects such as metro service in Kolkata help us:
– in serving the people better
– creating domestic manufacturing capabilities
– creating greater economic activities : @PiyushGoyal
— Piyush Goyal Office (@PiyushGoyalOffc) October 4, 2020
“The guesstimates are that this line (East West Metro corridor) will be used by nearly 10 lakh people by 2035. That itself will be a huge service to the people of Kolkata,” Goyal said.
Quoting Rabindranath Tagore’s words, “Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless when facing them,” Goyal appreciated the workers and the engineers and their fearless attitude to accomplish this project in a Tweet.
The Phoolbagan metro station that is the seventh station of East West Metro, will be ready to board passengers from Monday, October 5, 2020.
