Kolkata Metro’s Orange Line has cleared a key construction hurdle with the completion of the 62-metre viaduct gap at Chingrighata, a critical link on the corridor.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on X on Monday, 25 May, that the gap had been successfully bridged at Chingrighata.
“We have successfully bridged the 62-metre viaduct gap at Chingrighata – a critical link on Kolkata Metro’s Orange Line,” Vaishnaw said.
The minister also made a political allegation against the Trinamool Congress, saying the party had kept the work stalled for years by refusing basic traffic diversion permissions.
“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 said.
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Vaishnaw said the obstruction had ended and that the work was completed through night traffic blockades over 2 successive weekends.
“The obstruction ended. With night traffic blockades over two successive weekends, the work is complete, and the busy crossing road reopened 3 hours ahead of schedule,” he said.
The Chingrighata stretch is part of Kolkata Metro’s Orange Line, also known as the New Garia-Airport corridor.
The line is planned to connect Kavi Subhash in New Garia with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport through key areas including Salt Lake and New Town.
The Chingrighata section has been a critical construction point because it sits on the busy E.M. Bypass crossing and forms part of the link needed for further extension of the corridor towards Sector V.
The latest completion therefore marks an important physical connection on one of the most difficult road-crossing portions of the Orange Line.
For Kolkata Metro, the Chingrighata work is significant because the corridor is expected to improve connectivity between the southern and eastern parts of the city and eventually provide a metro link towards the airport.
