KOLKATA: Metro authorities have proposed extending the Joka-Esplanade Purple Line by another 1.6km to Eden Gardens. This is good news not only for cricket and football lovers but also scores of people who commute daily to workplaces around Strand Road, Babughat, Calcutta High Court and BBD Bag.
They can simply walk to the proposed Eden Gardens metro station to access the city’s larger rapid transit network.
Metro Railway sources said the proposal had been sent to the Railway Board for approval. The earlier plan was to link Eden Gardens to Esplanade by a long subway.
The 14.4-km Purple Line has eight elevated stations and four underground ones. The corridor currently operates a truncated 8-km elevated section between Joka and Majerhat. The under-construction eighth station at Mominpur is also elevated.
Beyond that, the 5-km section is underground with four stations – Khidderpore, Victoria, Park Street, and Esplanade. If all goes well, the fifth and terminal underground station could come up right opposite Eden Gardens’ Gate No. 1 near Mohun Bagan football ground.
If the proposal goes through, Purple Line’s underground crossover point, where rakes switch tracks, will shift towards Strand Road from the existing spot between Park Street and Esplanade. This could mean saving several trees near Manohar Das Tarag that would otherwise have to be felled.
Esplanade metro hub plan unchanged
The plan for a mega Metro hub, with a commercial plaza and underground parking space, at Esplanade will remain unchanged. “The 1.6-km tunnel to Eden Gardens will be like an offshoot of the Joka-Esplanade corridorThe Esplanade station, being a part of the Metro hub, will continue to be the most crucial station for the Purple line,” sources said.
The Eden Gardens extension will give metro access to people from HC, Eden Gardens, Babughat, Millennium Park and Strand Road, sources say. “It will be a win-win situation for both passengers and Metro Railway, which is already ferrying around 7.5 lakh passengers daily,” an official said.
Under the existing plan, a subway links Eden Gardens to the Esplanade hub. “The subway would have been a long underground walk for Eden Gardens and football ground visitors. Instead, it makes sense to build a transportation tunnel,” the official said.
