to be commissioned in near futureKolkata, Dec 27 (Reporter) The much awaited and most critical andchallenging underground track connecting between Sealdah station inthe east and Howrah station in the west via Esplanadeis expected to be commissioned in near future as the Kolkata MetroRail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) has completed track-laying in thewest-bound tunnel, via Bowbazar, one day ahead of schedule,this month, official source said on Friday.The ongoing work in this section was interrupted at Bowbazar locationbetween the two stations due to water ingress and collapse o­n August31,.2019 followed by two more similar incidentsin 2022 's May and October. " A long battle of more than five years was finally won by usingadvanced retrofitting methods, geo stabilisation techniques withgeophysical investigation and modern track fittings," the sourcepointed outafter being successfully trolley inspected this week by Metro Railway(K) general manager P. Uday Kumar Reddy along with KMRCL along withprincipal chief engineer Anuj Mittal and other technical experts. " The trolley inspection successfully completed o­ne day ahead of atight schedule set by KMRCL for completion of track works in theWest-bound Tunnel between Esplanade - Sealdah Section Of Green line,"the Kolkata Metro official said.After five years of geographical challenges underneath the earthsurface and protests from the Bowbazar residents after being caved insome patches the issue in the Bowbazar section of the East-West Metrocorridor (Green Line) has been finally resolved. The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) announced that thetrack-laying works in the west-bound tunnel, between the Esplanade andSealdah stations have been completed. The KMRCL had set a target for the completion of this work by December24, this year. On Tuesday, just one day ahead of schedule, the general manager ofMetro Railway, P Uday Kumar Reddy, along with KMRCL chairman and MetroRailway principal chief engineer Anuj Mittal, conducted a trolleyinspection of the completed tunnel section between Esplanade andSealdah.The 16.6-kilometre East-West corridor is currently operational in twophases, from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, and from Howrah Maidan toEsplanade. However, the 2-kilometre stretch between Esplanade andSealdah remained unfinished due to water ingress and tunnel collapsesin the Bowbazar area on multiple occasions. “A long battle of more than five years was finally won through theuse of advanced retrofitting methods, geo-stabilisation techniqueswith geophysical investigation, and modern track fittings,” the MetroRailway official concluded. Underwater Metro connectivity between Esplanade and Howrah wascommissioned on March 15, after Prime Minister Narendra Modiofficially unveiled on March 6, 2024...////...