Work on one of the most delayed stretches of Kolkata Metro’s Orange Line has finally begun. Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) commenced the segment launching at Chingrighata along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass from May 15.
The agency will block the EM Bypass for 60 hours from May 22 to 25 to complete the viaduct work.
Chingrighata stretch metro work: Why it took so long
The Chingrighata stretch had been pending for an unusually long time, held up by a combination of factors.
A prolonged dispute over coordination between the Centre and the previous Trinamool Congress-led state government, unresolved litigation, and persistent difficulties in securing traffic management approvals for work on the EM Bypass. The EM Bypass is one of the city’s most heavily used arterial roads.
What it means for the Orange line
The Orange Line, formally the New Garia–Airport Metro corridor, is among the most strategically significant additions to Kolkata’s expanding Metro network. Once complete, it will link New Garia in the south to Sector V in Salt Lake and onward to the international airport, offering a continuous rapid transit spine through the city’s eastern growth corridor.
At present, Metro services on this line run only on the Shahid Khudiram–Beleghata section. The Beleghata station sits roughly two kilometres short of the Chingrighata crossing, making this missing link the immediate priority before broader network continuity can be established.
Ashwini Vaishnaw’s double engine
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had previously cited the absence of state-level cooperation as a key impediment to Metro expansion in Kolkata. Following the BJP’s victory in the West Bengal assembly elections, that dynamic has shifted. Kolkata Police, which had earlier withheld clearances for weekend traffic regulation on the Bypass, has now agreed to the required restrictions.
Vaishnaw posted on X: “There has been a change of government in West Bengal. The double-engine government has come. The problem of Chingrighata, which was stuck for three years, has been solved. Permission has also been received from the Kolkata Police. Now the work is starting.”
What the work involves
RVNL, the executing agency for the New Garia–Airport corridor, is undertaking the construction of an elevated viaduct over a 366-metre stretch at Chingrighata, a section that had emerged as the single biggest physical bottleneck on the line. The work involves launching pre-cast segments over three piers, P-317, P-318 and P-319, and is being carried out in two phases spread across consecutive weekends this month.
The first phase, covering the western flank of the EM Bypass between piers P-317 and P-318, requires a continuous 60-hour road closure from 8 pm on May 15 to 8 am on May 18. The second phase, between P-318 and P-319 on the eastern flank, will follow the same pattern, a 60-hour closure from 8 pm on May 22 to 8 am on May 25. Traffic diversions have been put in place as per a notification issued by Kolkata Police, and commuters have been asked to plan accordingly.
Officials have indicated that completing the Chingrighata viaduct will allow construction activity on the wider corridor to gather pace, with the hope that operational connectivity can progress more rapidly once this physical gap is bridged, as per PTI.
About RVNL
Rail Vikas Nigam is a Central Public Sector Enterprise that comes under the Ministry of Railways. It was established in 2003 and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is responsible for executing major rail infrastructure and metro projects.