Kolkata Metro Line 1
Kolkata Metro Line 1 North–South Metro |
|
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Rapid transit |
| System | Kolkata Metro |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale |
 Kolkata, India
|
| Termini |
Kavi Subhash (south) Noapara (north) |
| Stations | 24 |
| Daily ridership | 550,000 to 600,000 (Average) |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 24 October 1984 |
| Operator(s) | Kolkata Metro zone of Indian Railways |
| Character |
|
| Technical | |
| Line length | 27.39 km (17.02 mi) |
| Number of tracks | 2 |
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Broad gauge |
| Electrification | 750 V DC using third rail |
| Operating speed | 55 km/h (in service) |
The Line 1, also known as North–South Metro of the Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving Kolkata, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. It consists of 23 stations from Kavi Subhash to Dum Dum, of which 6 are elevated, 2 are at grade and the remaining 15 are underground, with a total distance of 25.30 km. The line connects Dum Dum and New Garia and uses 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) Broad gauge rolling stock. Noapara was opened on 10 July 2013. It is elevated and is located 2.09 km. north of Dum Dum. So now (July 2013 onwards), Metro runs a total of 27.39 Kilometers from Noapara to Kavi Subhash where there are total 24 nos. of Stations. It was the first underground railway to be built in India, with the first operations commencing in October, 1984 and the full stretch that was initially planned being operational by February 1995. On 28 December 2010, it became the 17th zone of the Indian Railways. Being the country's first, and a completely indigenous process, the construction of the Kolkata Metro was more of a trial-and-error affair, in contrast to the Delhi Metro, which has seen the involvement of numerous international consultants. As a result, it took nearly 23 years to completely construct around 15 km underground railway from Birpara up to just before of Tollygunj Metro Station.
The laying of the founding stone was done in 1972, but actual construction of line 1 started only in 1978. Line 1 is 17 km. long with 17 stations (see above). Running of the first metro car on the line by 1984 was considered a great engineering challenge.Former railways minister A. B. A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury took a massive effort to perform it. The first section opened between Esplanade & Bhowanipore (now called Netaji Bhawan). First day Metro Railway Kolkata were started by Sri Tapan Kumar Nath and Sri Sanjay Sil. There were no connections of this stretch with the two depots at Dum Dum & Tollygunge (Now called Mahanayak Uttam Kumar). So metro cars had to be put down on the track near Esplanade by crane, by directly digging the road surface. Initially, only four car trains were run until 1986. There were no magnetic gates or escalators at that time and ordinary revolving gates served as exits. The Metro too operated on only a single line. Two years later, line 1 extended up to Tollygunge, at the southern end. At the same time, the metro service was extended to the double line. Magnetic tickets and more entry gates were also introduced at that time. The number of compartments in each train was increased to eight.
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