Subway linking rly & metro stations opens at Sealdah

Kolkata: Nearly three years after East-West Metro's Sealdah station started operations, the subway connecting it with the railway station was opened for public on Thursday.Sealdah Metro station accommodates approximately 35,000 to 40,000 passengers daily, including those utilising Sealdah railway station to come to the city from the suburbs. "This summer will be slightly more bearable since we will be able to walk between the two stations without negotiating a sea of people during rush hours," said Ankita Basu, an executive employed at Sector V who commutes via local train from Barasat before taking the Metro.The 30-year-old was among the inaugural passengers to take the subway when it was opened on Thursday. "The underground passageway links Sealdah railway station with Sealdah court, BR Singh Hospital and the metro station, enabling passengers to transit conveniently, particularly during peak hours and adverse weather conditions," said DRM, Sealdah, Dipak Nigam."We needn't navigate the crowded concourse area of the railway station and run to catch trains," said Ashutosh Das, a Bikash Bhavan employee who commutes from Ranaghat every day. "The subway segregates pedestrians from rail and road traffic. Rail passengers can now access Sealdah station platforms and East-West Metro faster," Nigam added. The wide subway has ramps for the differently-abled, modern ventilation infrastructure and signages. Milind Deouskar, general manager, Eastern Railway, recently assessed the subway's readiness and instructed Sealdah divisional officials to complete the remaining work at the earliest. Since Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation, the implementing agency of East-West Metro, has completed Sealdah Metro station, there was no justification to postpone the subway's commissioning, the GM reportedly said. East-West Metro is targeting a full 16.6km run between Sector V and Howrah Maidan in the next few months. "With more people using Sealdah Metro station, footfall in the Sealdah railway station complex will increase. The subway has opened just in time," an ER official said.

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