A 366-metre gap, a million commuters affected: Kolkata metro delay hurts public interest

By Atanu Roy* 

Compromising the interests of ordinary people, the authorities concerned in West Bengal appear to be playing with the timeline of the Kolkata Metro’s Orange Line project, turning what should have been a transformative public transport corridor into a prolonged ordeal for commuters.

Salt Lake Sector V, the commercial heart of Salt Lake City and a key business district within the Kolkata metropolitan area, has long served as the IT hub of eastern India. Spread across nearly 430 acres, it hosts thousands of professionals who depend daily on efficient connectivity. The Salt Lake Electronics Complex, established by Webel in 1989, was originally conceived as a base for electronics industries before evolving into a major IT-BPO hub due to its strategic proximity to the airport. Over the decades, Sector V has grown into one of the most significant employment centres in the region.

The Eastern Metropolitan Bypass functions as the lifeline of this ecosystem. Every day, thousands of IT professionals travel along this arterial stretch from the southern fringes such as New Garia and Narendrapur, as well as from northern areas like Barasat and Dum Dum. Given this heavy dependence, the Kolkata Metro Orange Line (Line 6) was envisioned as a critical east-side transport spine, with Sector V as a major hub, and was expected to be completed by 2025.

Instead, what exists today is a fractured corridor. A mere 366-metre gap at Chingrighata has rendered the line incomplete, reducing it to a truncated feeder service rather than a fully integrated metro route. This small but crucial missing link has effectively become a “network breaker,” preventing seamless connectivity with the rest of Kolkata’s metro system.

At present, only the stretch from Kavi Subhash (New Garia) to Beleghata—approximately 9 to 10 kilometres—is operational, having opened to passengers in August 2025. Beyond Beleghata, toward Sector V and the airport, the infrastructure is largely in place: tracks have been laid, stations are nearing completion, and trial runs have been conducted. Yet, without the completion of the Chingrighata viaduct, trains cannot run commercially on this section.

The consequences for commuters are severe. A journey from New Garia to Sector V currently requires a detour through central Kolkata, typically involving a change from the Blue Line at Esplanade to the Green Line. This circuitous route takes between 70 and 90 minutes, often under crowded and uncomfortable conditions, especially during peak office hours. Once the Orange Line is fully operational, the same journey could be completed directly in about 30 to 35 minutes without any interchange. The daily saving of 40 to 50 minutes one way translates into nearly an hour and a half saved each day for many commuters.

The importance of Sector V as an interchange cannot be overstated. Once connected, the Orange Line would link New Garia to Sector V, and onward via the East-West Metro to Howrah and Sealdah, creating a seamless transit network. It would also extend northward to New Town and the airport, forming a continuous east-side metro spine. Such integration would significantly reduce pressure on central Kolkata and ease congestion along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, particularly in high-traffic zones like Ruby, Chingrighata and Salt Lake.

The scale of disruption caused by the missing 366 metres becomes clearer when viewed in this broader context. It is akin to a fully constructed highway rendered unusable by a short, incomplete bridge segment. Despite the readiness of the rest of the corridor, the absence of this critical link prevents the system from functioning as intended.

The reasons for this delay are not purely technical. The Chingrighata stretch requires the launching of heavy girders over a busy traffic junction, necessitating coordinated traffic diversions and administrative approvals. These permissions, controlled by state authorities, have reportedly not been granted consistently. The issue has also drawn judicial attention, with the Supreme Court criticising delays and pointing to administrative impediments. The state government, on its part, has cited concerns over traffic disruption and urban planning.

What emerges, therefore, is a mix of bureaucratic inertia, political friction, and logistical challenges. However, for the common commuter, these distinctions offer little consolation. The reality is that a nearly completed public infrastructure project remains underutilised, while lakhs of people continue to bear the cost in terms of time, productivity and daily stress.

In the end, the prolonged delay of the Kolkata Metro Orange Line reflects a troubling pattern where governance bottlenecks override public interest. Until the final 366-metre gap at Chingrighata is closed, the promise of a faster, more efficient urban commute for Kolkata’s residents will remain unfulfilled, and the burden of that delay will continue to fall squarely on the shoulders of ordinary citizens.

---

*Belonging to West Bengal, based in Singapore