Lok Sabha Question No. 50 (STARRED), answered on 2025-12-03
Subject: Metro Service between Kolkata and Suburban Areas
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Kalyan Banerjee

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 50 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.12.2025

## METRO SERVICE BETWEEN KOLKATA AND SUBURBAN AREAS

## *50.  SHRI KALYAN BANERJEE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  Government  proposes  to  extend metro railway services between Kolkata and suburban areas
- and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the timeframe to complete Joka-Esplanade Purple Line connection therefor;
- (c) the  details  of  the  Detailed  Project  Reports/project  plan  for extension  of  metro  railway  from  Howrah  to  Sheoraphuli  to manage  capacity  constraints  and  improve  infrastructure  for smoother journey to religious places of Tarakeswar, Joyrambati, Kamarpukur thereof; and
- (d) the present  status of other  proposed  projects  of  metro extension?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  50  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON 03.12.2025.

(a) to (d) Metro project in Kolkata started in 1972. The details of the Metro commissioned since then are as under:

| Period                   | Metro Commissioned   |
|--------------------------|----------------------|
| 1972 to 2014 ( 42 years) | 28 km                |
| 2014 to 2025 ( 11 years) | 45 km                |

Presently, 4 metro corridors of total 52 km are under construction in and  around  Kolkata  out  of  which  20  km  is  held  up  due  to  land acquisition and utility shifting issues pertaining to State Government. The status of these corridors is as given below:

- (i) Joka - Esplanade (14 km):- Joka - Majerhat (7.74 km) has been commissioned and balance work from Majerhat to Esplanade (6.26 km) has been taken up. However, progress of the work is affected due to the following issues:
- (ii) New Garia - Dum Dum Airport (32 km): New Garia - Belaghata (9.8 km) has been commissioned and balance work from Belaghata to Dum Dum Airport (22.2 km) has been taken up. However, progress of the work is affected due to the following issues:
- (iii) Noapara - Barasat (18 km): Noapara - Jai Hind Airport (6.77 km) has  been  commissioned  and  work  from  Jai  Hind  Airport  to Michael Nagar is in progress. However, work from New Barrackpore to Barasat (7.5 km) is held up due to land acquisition and encroachment issues by State authorities.
- (iv) Baranagar - Barrackpore - Dakshineshwar (14.5 km): Baranagar Dakshineshwar (2 km) has been commissioned and balance work from  Baranagar  to  Barrackpore  (12.5  km)  is  held  up  due  to pending  utility  shifting  in  the  alignment  by  State  Government authorities. The details are as below:

|   SN | Location                 | Issues                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|------|--------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | Khidderpur Metro Station |  For utility shifting and road traffic diversion, 837 sqm permanent and 1,702 sqm temporary land of State Government (Kolkata Armed Police) is required. The proposal of this land was sent to State Government on 24.08.2020.  Several meetings were held with officials of Government of West Bengal (GoWB) for transfer of above land.  After lot of persuasion, State Government finally accorded approval in July 2025 only after almost 5 years. |

|   SN | Location            | Issues                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|------|---------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    2 | Dr. B.C. Roy Market |  For construction of Esplanade Metro Station, temporary shifting of unauthorised 528 Shops at B.C. Roy Market on Defence land is required.  The proposal for NOC of temporary/permanent shifting of these shops was submitted to State Government in February 2022. Shops for temporary shifting of these unauthorized shops have also been constructed by Railway.  The State Government has been requested to facilitate shifting. Regular follow up with State PWD is also being done.  Issue is pending for more than 3.5 years. |

|   SN | Location                                                                | Issues                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
|------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | Chingrighata Crossing (Between Beleghata - Gour Kishore Ghosh stations) |  Temporary traffic diversion at Chingrighata crossing for launching of viaduct segments is required for 3 nights each on either side of the road (8 hours on every night).  The proposal was submitted to Government of West Bengal (GoWB) in December 2024.  The diversion road as desired by Kolkata traffic police has already been constructed in February 2025.  Since then, several meetings have been held with various State Government and Kolkata police officials for NOC.  The NOC is still awaited even after about 10 months. |

|   SN | Location                   | Issues                                                                                                                                                                   |
|------|----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | New Barrackpore to Barasat |  Land acquisition (23,000 sq. m) and removal of heavy encroachments (1,277 hutments, 764 shops) are involved in this section.  The matter is not yet resolved by GoWB. |

|   SN | Location                 | Issues                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|------|--------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | Baranagar to Barrackpore |  The original alignment along the B.T road was agreed in 2011 as per MoU among Metro Railway, RVNL and Kolkata Municipal Corporation.  As per MoU, existing pipeline was to be replaced by new 64 inch diameter pipeline by the State Government.  Shifting of this pipeline was completed in 2012.  However, NOC is still awaited from Government of West Bengal. |

Sheoraphuli  is  already  connected  with  Howrah.  Sheoraphuli  is  an existing  station  of  Indian  Railway  Network  on  Howrah  -  Bandel Junction mainline having 5 tracks.

Tarakeswar - Bishnupur (83 km) new line project is held up due to law  and  order  issues  in  Goghat  -  Kamarpukur  section  falling  in Hooghly district. The work was stopped by local villagers in about 900m length near Bhabadighi Pond. The work is held up since 2016.

## West Bengal

Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal is as under:-

| Period   | Outlay                          |
|----------|---------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹4,380 Cr./year                 |
| 2025-26  | ₹13,955 Cr. (More than 3 times) |

As on 01.04.2025, 42 projects (12 New  Lines, 04 Gauge Conversions  and  26  Doubling),  of  total  length  of  4,402  km,  costing ₹67,991 crore falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal have been sanctioned, out of which, 1,702 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹23,410 crore has been incurred upto March, 2025. The summary is as under:-

| Category                 |   No. of projects | Total Length (in km)   | Length Commissioned till March, 2025 (in km)   | Total Exp. upto March, 2025 (₹ in Cr.)   |
|--------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| New Lines                |                12 | 1,032                  | 337                                            | 11,368                                   |
| Gauge Conversion         |                 4 | 1,201                  | 854                                            | 3,673                                    |
| Doubling/Multi -tracking |                26 | 2,169                  | 511                                            | 8,370                                    |
| Total                    |                42 | 4,402                  | 1,702                                          | 23,410                                   |

Details of some  of  the recently completed  projects  falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal are as under:

|   SN | Project                                                                             | Cost (₹ in Cr.)   |
|------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
|    1 | Rampurhat-Mandarhill new line & Rampurhat- Murarai 3 rd line (159 km)               | 1,500             |
|    2 | Azimganj - Murshidabad new line (7 km)                                              | 164               |
|    3 | Bardhaman - Katwa Gauge Conversion (52 km)                                          | 696               |
|    4 | Ahmedpur - Katwa Gauge Conversion (52 km)                                           | 440               |
|    5 | Panskura - Kharagpur Doubling (45 km)                                               | 408               |
|    6 | Lalgola - Jiaganj Doubling (23 km)                                                  | 124               |
|    7 | Krishnanagar - Bethuadahari Doubling (28 km)                                        | 152               |
|    8 | Nabadwip Dham - Patuli Doubling (22 km)                                             | 170               |
|    9 | Bethuadahari - Plassey Doubling (23 km)                                             | 132               |
|   10 | Ambikakalna - Nabadwip Dham Doubling (23 km)                                        | 145               |
|   11 | Nalhati - Sagardighi Doubling (26 km)                                               | 193               |
|   12 | Tamluk Jn. - Basulya Sutahata Doubling (24 km)                                      | 245               |
|   13 | Plassey - Jiaganj Doubling (54 km)                                                  | 234               |
|   14 | Azimganj - Manigram Doubling (21 km)                                                | 150               |
|   15 | New Coochbehar - Gumanihat Doubling (29 km)                                         | 330               |
|   16 | New Coochbehar- Samuktala Road Doubling (29 km) rd                                  | 445 186           |
|   17 | Sainthia - Tarapith 3 line (22 km)                                                  |                   |
|   18 | Ambari Falakata - New Maynaguri Doubling (37 km) Bandel - Boinchi 3 rd line (31 km) | 843 546           |
|   19 |                                                                                     |                   |
|   20 | Boinchi - Shaktigarh 3 rd line (26 km)                                              | 424               |
|   21 | Bazar Sau - Azimganj Jn. Doubling (42 km)                                           | 343               |
|   22 | Sagardighi - Malda Town Doubling (25 km)                                            | 248               |
|   23 | Kharagpur - Narayangarh 3 rd line (24 km)                                           | 270               |
|   24 | Monigram - Nimtita Doubling (24 km)                                                 | 713               |
|   25 | Purulia - Kotshila Doubling (36 km)                                                 | 393               |

Some  of  the  projects  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  West Bengal which have been taken up are as under:

|   SN | Project                                  | Cost (₹ in Cr.)   |
|------|------------------------------------------|-------------------|
|    1 | Tarakeshwar - Bishnupur new line (83 km) | 1,542             |
|    2 | Sivok - Rangpo new line (44 km)          | 11,973            |
|    3 | Balurghat - Hilli new line (30 km)       | 1,209             |
|    4 | Kaliyaganj - Buniadpur new line (33 km)  | 1,147             |

|   5 | Katihar - Kumedpur and Katihar - Mukuria Doubling (65 km)   | 943   |
|-----|-------------------------------------------------------------|-------|
|   6 | Kharagpur - Adityapur 3 rd line (132 km)                    | 3,250 |
|   7 | Narayangarh - Bhadrak 3 rd line (153 km)                    | 2,136 |
|   8 | Chandil - Anara - Damodar 3 rd line (121 km)                | 1,932 |
|   9 | Kalipahari - Bakhtarnagar 5 th line (18 km)                 | 350   |
|  10 | Dankuni - Baltikuri 3 rd & 4 th line (18 km)                | 429   |
|  11 | Murarai - Barharwa 3 rd line (49 km)                        | 935   |
|  12 | Ranaghat - Krishnanagar City 3 rd line (26 km)              | 446   |
|  13 | Aluabari Road - New Jalpaiguri 3 rd & 4 th line (57 km)     | 1,630 |

During  last  three  years  (i.e.  2022-23,  2023-24,  2024-25)  and current Financial Year i.e. 2025-26, total 97 Nos. of Surveys (10 New Line, 87 Doubling) falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal having a  total  length  of  4,004  km  have  been  sanctioned.  Some  of  the important surveys that have been taken up are as under:-

|   SN | Project                                                                  |   Length (km) |
|------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|
|    1 | Kharagpur - Bhadrak 4 th line                                            |           173 |
|    2 | Kharagpur - Tatanagar 4 th line                                          |           134 |
|    3 | Chandil - Anara - Burnpur 4 th line                                      |           125 |
|    4 | Malda town - Kumedpur 3 rd and 4 th line                                 |            61 |
|    5 | Gumani - Malda town 3 rd and 4 th line including bridge over river Ganga |           163 |

Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal is held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in West Bengal is as under:

| Total Land required         | 4,564 Ha       |
|-----------------------------|----------------|
| Land Acquired               | 1,250 Ha (27%) |
| Balance Land to be acquired | 3,314 Ha (73%) |

Details  of  some  major  projects  which  are  delayed  due  to  land acquisition are as under:-

|   SN | Name of the project                    |   Total land required (in Ha) |   Land acquired (in Ha) |   Balance Land to be acquired (in Ha) |   Amount Paid to State (₹ in Cr.) |
|------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------|---------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
|    1 | Nabadwip Ghat - Nabadwip Dham new line |                        106.71 |                       0 |                                106.71 |                              50   |
|    2 | Sainthia Byepass line                  |                         22.28 |                       0 |                                 22.28 |                               0   |
|    3 | Naihati - Ranaghat 3 rd line           |                         13.33 |                       0 |                                 13.33 |                               1.3 |

Deshapran - Nandigram (18.5 km) Line was sanctioned in 2009-10 at a cost of ₹121.44 crores. The entire Project length is located in East Midnapore District. The project could not progress due to problems in land  acquisition  and  was  kept  in  abeyance.  In  April  2023  it  was decided to re-start the work. However, Survey for land acquisition from Deshapran  to  5.0  km  could  not  be  completed  due  to  law  and  order issues. As Deshapran is the connecting station, acquisition of this land is essential for commissioning of this project.

Sanction of any railway project depends upon many parameters/factors which include the following:

-  Anticipated  traffic  projections  and  remunerativeness  of  the proposed route
-  First and last mile connectivity provided by the project
-  Connection of missing links and providing additional route
-  Augmentation of congested/saturated lines
-  Demands  raised  by  State  Governments/Central  Ministries/Public representatives
-  Railway's own operational requirements
-  Socio-economic considerations
-  Overall availability of funds

Completion  of  Railway  project/s  depends  on  various  factors which include the following:

-  Land acquisition by State Government
-  Forest clearance
-  Shifting of infringing utilities
-  Statutory clearances from various authorities
-  Geological and topographical conditions of area
-  Law and order situation in the area of project site
-  Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc.

All these factors affect the completion time of the project/s.

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