Kolkata, Apr 23 (PTI) Metro Railways Kolkata on Wednesday announced the suspension of services from Howrah Maidan to Sector V in Salt Lake for three days from April 26 to test the automated signalling and train operating system along the 16.6 km stretch.

In a statement, the railways said the suspension would allow for testing the efficacy of the ‘Communication-based Train Control’ (CBTC) system from Howrah Maidan to Sector V.

“There will be a complete traffic block from Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector V of Green Line from April 26 (Saturday) to April 28 (Monday) in connection with testing of Communication Based Train Control (CBTC ) system over the entire green line and inspection for commissioning of Esplanade-Sealdah Section,” the statement said.

The inter-connecting subway between Sealdah Metro station and Sealdah station of Eastern Railway will remain closed during those three days.

“Due to this traffic block, special Metro service in Green Line-2 after the IPL match of Kolkata Knight Riders, which will be played at Eden Gardens on April 26 (Saturday) night, will not be available. However, the special Metro services in Blue Line (Dakshineswar-New Garia) after the match will be available,” it added.

Currently Metro services are available in Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section and Sealdah-Sector V stretches of Green Line called Green Line-1 and Green Line-2.

Due to a ground cave-in in the Bowbazar area between the Esplanade-Sealdah stretch in 2018 during tunneling work, Metro Railways missed the deadline to open the entire stretch. As a result, truncated services have been operating in two sections.

A Metro Railway spokesperson confirmed that services along the entire stretch would be commissioned soon after the inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) and approval from the Railway Ministry. PTI SUS MNB