Kolkata, May 25 -- Completion of the long-delayed viaduct work at Chingrighata has revived hopes of faster progress on several stalled Metro projects in Kolkata, with Metro Railway targeting December 2026 for connecting the Orange Line with the Green Line at Sector V and December 2027 for extending services to the airport.

Metro Railway chief public relations officer S S Kannan said completion of girder launching work at Chingrighata had removed one of the biggest bottlenecks on the New Garia-Airport corridor.

"Beleghata to IT Centre is our optimistic target for December 2026. Once that section opens, Orange Line passengers will be able to interchange with the Green Line at Sector V and travel to Howrah Maidan," Kannan said.

"We are targeting December 2027 for the airport section," he said.

Metro authorities said girder launching work at the Chingrighata crossing was completed three hours ahead of schedule and traffic on the E M Bypass was restored at 5 am on Monday.

The Orange Line project had remained stalled for more than one-and-a-half years at Chingrighata because elevated viaduct construction required prolonged traffic blocks at one of the city's busiest intersections.

"The alignment at Chingrighata required traffic blocks. Unfortunately, we did not get them earlier. This time we got permission and work started immediately," Kannan said.

"When milestones are disturbed, naturally projects are hampered. But now we are moving forward. We will deliver what we have promised," he said.

Officials said the work was completed in two phases over successive weekends, with RVNL first completing a 28m span between piers 317 and 318 before bridging the final 34m span between piers 318 and 319.

On the Joka-Esplanade Purple Line, Kannan said work around Park Street had reached an advanced stage, though relocation of B C Roy Market at Esplanade remained a hurdle.

He said the corridor could take another two to two-and-a-half years before services reached Esplanade, which is planned as a major interchange connecting the Blue, Green and Purple lines along with bus services.

On the Airport-Barasat corridor, Kannan said tunnelling work had crossed the airport station and work between the airport and Michael Nagar was progressing quickly.

"There are some land-related issues towards Barasat but meetings are scheduled and we hope those problems will be resolved," he said, adding that the Barasat extension could take another three years.

Kannan said Kavi Subhash station was expected to reopen before Durga Puja after completion of technical civil engineering work.

"The station has been closed purely from the passenger safety point of view," he said.

He added that the Barrackpore Metro project remained sanctioned despite initial difficulties.

"RVNL is studying the matter. My understanding is that the line will probably be elevated," he said.

"We have successfully bridged the 62-metre viaduct gap at Chingrighata - a critical link on Kolkata Metro's Orange Line," wrote Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on X.

"TMC kept it stalled for years by refusing basic traffic diversion permissions. Even after the High Court and Supreme Court cleared the project, the work still never moved," he added.

He also said that the work was completed with night traffic blockades over two successive weekends and the busy crossing reopened three hours ahead of schedule.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.