Stranded East-West rake starts for Kolkata after West Bengal nod

KOLKATA: The state on Sunday cleared entry of the six 74-wheel trailers carrying the East-West Metro rake into the city and the vehicles are likely to reach the Salt Lake stabling yard on Monday. The trailers had been stranded at Uluberia since Tuesday, awaiting clearance from the Mamata Banerjee government that has banned vehicles with 20 or more wheels from entering the city after the Majerhat bridge collapsed on September 4.This is the fourth rake being sent by Bengaluru-based BEML for East-West Metro, which is gearing up for commissioning in the beginning of next year.

The six coaches, to be assembled into a rake inside East-West Metro’s Salt Lake depot, were sent on six trailers 25 days ago from Bengaluru. Driven by six 10-wheeled puller trucks, the trailers (each with 64 wheels) reached Uluberia on Tuesday. But they couldn’t be driven further than Kulgachia and remained stranded around 70km from Kolkata. Each trailer weighs four tonnes and the weight of one coach is 40 tonnes. The trailers have eight axles, each fitted with eight wheels.
BEML officials wrote to the transport department, which, in turn, allowed the trailers carrying the Metro coaches to enter the city. The vehicles then headed for Bally bridge. At the time TOI spoke to them, officials said the trailers would start from the bridge at night to reach the Salt Lake depot at dawn on Monday.
There was delay in the first rake’s entry to the city in May because of bureaucratic red tape with regional transport office (RTO). Therefore, officials of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, (KMRC), implementing the under-river Metro connectivity between Kolkata and Howrah, and those of BEML, were cautious this time, waiting for a formal clearance from the state government before the huge trailers started for the city. “We wanted to be absolutely sure and secure a written permission before entering the city,” an official said.
This rake is among five requisitioned for the first phase of Metro operations between Sector V and Salt Lake stadium. BEML has been contracted to manufacture 14 such rakes for East-West Metro.
The first East-West rake arrived in the city on April 24, the second on May 4 and the third on July 24. The fourth will be unloaded with the help of a 200-tonne crane on a platform on Monday and assembled on Tuesday. A fifth rake is due to arrive in the next few weeks.