Kolkata Metro will halt services on the Howrah Maidan–Esplanade stretch on 3 August to conduct critical testing of the Automatic Train Operation (ATO) system on the East–West corridor. Trains will continue to operate uninterrupted along the North–South line between Dakshineswar and Shahid Khudiram, according to a Metro Railway spokesperson.
This suspension marks a key milestone in preparing Kolkata’s first under-river metro for advanced automation. Since January 2025, trial runs have been conducted on the Esplanade–Sealdah section to validate the new signalling system, with several controlled traffic blocks to ensure system integrity.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has granted clearance for the 2.5‑km Esplanade–Sealdah section, which had been delayed due to serious ground subsidence caused by a 2019 tunnelling accident in Bowbazar. Completion of this segment is expected to unify the previously disconnected 16.6 km corridor between Howrah Maidan and Sector V.
Metro Railway Kolkata has scheduled driverless trial operations on the corridor, with the ATO system set for uninterrupted functionality shortly. During these trials, motormen will still manage door controls and trip initiation.
Once approved, the corridor will provide seamless connectivity from Howrah to the Salt Lake IT hub at Sector V in just 11 minutes, via the underwater tunnel under the Hooghly River—an operational first in India.
While earlier projections suggested a full corridor launch by July, final approval now awaits the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and fire brigade certification
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