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Metro Railway Kolkata is preparing a major upgrade of its Blue Line by constructing seven new traction substations across key stations on the corridor. These will be located at Kalighat, Netaji Bhawan, Maidan, Esplanade, MG Road, Sovabazar-Sutanuti, and between Belgachia and Shyambazar. Orders have also been placed for two additional substations at Chandni Chowk and Geetanjali. Along with this, the ventilation and cooling systems in tunnels and stations are being modernised to enhance safety, reduce energy usage, and improve overall performance. Recent past upgrades and planned signalling improvements also support this long-term modernisation effort.
Metro Railway Kolkata is working on a large power infrastructure upgrade for its Blue Line, which runs from Dakshineswar to Sahid Khudiram and has been operating for over 41 years. As part of this plan, seven new traction substations will be added at Kalighat, Netaji Bhawan, Maidan, Esplanade, MG Road, Sovabazar-Sutanuti, and at a point between Belgachia and Shyambazar. According to a Metro spokesperson, the aim is to ensure that every station on the Blue Line has its own traction substation, similar to newer routes such as the Purple Line and Orange Line. Advertisement
Apart from these seven new substations, Metro has also placed orders for two more-one at Chandni Chowk and another at Geetanjali (Naktala). Officials mentioned that the Chandni Chowk substation will help reduce pressure on the existing system, especially in the busy Esplanade-Central section, where train rakes often face operational congestion.
The Blue Line-s ventilation and cooling systems are also being upgraded. The older forced-ventilation mechanism, which relied on centrifugal fans running round-the-clock, is being replaced with a Tunnel Ventilation System (TVS). The new system includes smoke extraction and improved airflow management, which will support emergency handling and regular operations. Earlier, 14 tunnel midpoints were using 110 kW centrifugal fans. In 2021-2022, Metro had already cut their energy consumption by installing Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs). The current phase will replace these older fans with axial fans capable of working for up to two hours at tunnel temperatures of 250°C, even during fire or smoke incidents.
The work for installing the new ventilation system has been awarded to the Indian subsidiary of a Japanese firm. The parent company has previous experience in installing environmental control systems and tunnel ventilation systems across more than 100 underground stations in Singapore. Their engineering team recently visited the air-conditioning plant at Jatin Das Park station to review the existing setup.
Metro officials stated that the new ventilation setup will improve fire safety, support emergency extraction requirements, reduce power consumption, and help bring down carbon emissions by nearly 12,300 metric tonnes each year.
This set of upgrades follows earlier modernisation work on the Blue Line. The Belgachia substation, one of the oldest, was upgraded from 11 kV to 33 kV using gas-insulated switchgear earlier this year. That upgrade alone is expected to save around INR 350 crore through reduced distribution losses and lower replacement expenditure.
In addition, the signalling system on the Blue Line is also planned for improvement. Metro's general manager has confirmed that a Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) system is expected to be introduced within the next three to four years, which will help modernise train operations and improve efficiency on the line.
Source PTI
5th Jun, 2025
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