Trip Report on Dum Dum – Noapara stretch of Metro Railway, Kolkata The day (11.07.2013) began as usual. I reported to my office at Triangular Park from where I was allocated for the day on a Housing Co-operative Society Audit Assignment near Rabindra Sarovar Metro Station. Little did I expect that the day would be throwing me an opportunity to travel on the newly inaugurated Dum Dum (KDMI) – Noapara (KNOA) strectch of the tube network as presently during weekdays I remain busy shuttling between tution classes and clients’ office and taking joyrides on trains has indeed taken a back-seat for me. To my surprise, for the first time I found that the clients’ office where I was assigned for the day got over by 16.30 hrs. Bidding my fellow Article Assisstant goodbye I was on my way to Rabindra Sarovar Metro station trying to make up my mind that whether I should take a trip to Noapara as the services for the northern terminal are available at 20 mins frequency. Casting a cursory glance on the Next Service Availability Board (NSAB) I ran down the stairs with the hope of hopping onto the KDMI bound service that was due in a minutes time. Inspite of being quipped with a Smart Card, I missed the service thanks to the long ques in front of the Token Flap Gates where a lot of people with tokens in their hands displayed their un“smart”ness. The LED Destination Headway Header Display (DHHD) and the LED Aspect Lamps of AC 23/24 seemed to tell me “Better Luck next time” as she gracefully exited the platform. This Diva had all the reasons to be proud of herself because it is she who has heralded the Metro Age into the territory north of Dum Dum just the day before. Now came the pleasant surprise. The Train Destination Headway Display (TDHD) now started flashing Noapara. Oooohhhhhh…. I was so excited. For the first time I saw some thing else was flashing on the Northbound TDHD instead of the customary ‘DUM DUM’. I prayed that my first ever visit to Noapara should be on an AC rake and God granted it. As the tracks started gleaming with the beam of light from the headlamps of the approaching train, my joy knew no bounds as I made out the incoming service to be an AC one. Now these AC rakes though are equipped with programmable DHHDs, it still continued flashing Dum Dum. It was AC 03/04, the rake on which for the first time I got to travel in AC on IR as well as in Metro Railway, Kolkata. I became a bit nostalgic as I recollected my maiden trip onboard Metro Railways’ AC fleet. I boarded the north bound Driving Motor Coach (DMC) 3004. The TDHDs and Motormens’ Service Running Displays (MSRDs) at all stations enroute flashed Noapara and NOA respectively. I expected that much alike the New York subway, announcements would be made at each station that the train is headed for Noapara, but that didn’t happen. Metro Railway, Kolkata still has a long way to go to catch up with its international counterparts. In between Chandni Chowk and Central a mild commotion broke out between the commuters regarding the final destination of the train. While the majority was convinced that the train was headed for Noapara some taking a cue from the DHHD argued that the train would be terminating at Dum Dum itself. To put the arguments at rest, AC 03/04 raised a sharp hoot before it thundered into Central. At Shovabazar Shutanuti, the right side of the northern stair case was found to be barricaded by iron fencing to facilitate the construction of a new escalator from the platform to the mezzanine level. As the train left Belgachia, I curiously looked up at the LED Ticker Display Panel (LED-TDP) and found that the scroller ran as “The next station is Dum Dum. The platform is on the left side”. However, no sooner the train entered Dum Dum, the familiar voice of Madhumanti Maitra over PAS announced… Passengers are requested to vacate the coach at this terminal station. Inspite of the announcement over the PAS the passengers seated inside the coach did not budge. Instead a whole lot of merry makers who had come to savour the first ride on this stetch joined us. In the meantime, the on duty Motorman was released and a new Motorman took charge for the onward journey. For the first time I ventured into Metro’s territory north of Dum Dum and I was too excited. I found AC 23/24 cooling her heels on the Y-siding. Soon our train gathered speed and climbing down the steep gradient crossed a small tunnel emerged on the other side of ER’s Sealdah Mainline. This steep gradient once posed a serious challenge to the extension of Metro network north of Dum Dum using the existing alignment. The CRS argued that it would be rather unsafe to use this steep gradient for commercial services under Super- Dense Crush Load conditions. After conducting repeated trials with rakes loaded with sand-bags replicating the Super Dense Crush Load conditions the final nod from CRS was obtained to use the existing alignment for northward extension of the network. The tunnel though very short is partly of box-type and partly consists of riveted iron rigs as found in the stretch between Belgachia and Shyambazar. Raunak Banerjee, Siddhartha Mukherjee and others who have travelled from Aishbaag to Daliganj Jn of NER would find some similarity as the Metro track here literally runs through the backyards of the houses though only for a meager distance (on concrete superstructure). The track descends at the ground level to make way for entry to the Noapara Coaching Depot and again climbs up an overhead superstructure to enter the terminal station Noapara. The Noapara station described as a “world-class station” by the top brass Metro Railway officials is indeed way ahead of the rest of the stations on the 27 km long tube network. The station sports smart signage on the lines of DMRC. The station consists of 4 platforms out of which only platform 2 has been made operational. Platform No 1 though ready has not been made operational since work on the Y siding is still pending. Platform Nos 3 & 4 are to be used for Airport and Barasat bound services and work on the track bed is still pending there. Ordinary tiles has been used in the platform flooring which in my opinion has to a certain extent has marred the overall looks. However once you climb down to the ground level at the booking office you are bound to get a feeling of an Airport….. Its just so tidy…. So picturous…. I was spellbound… It looked awesome. Just opposite to the Noapara station building there is another three story building that houses the power panels and other power distribution and load sharing equipments. What I could make out is it is a Power Sub-station to feed the extended stretch. However once you get outside stark reality strikes you hard. Potholed narrow road welcomes you for your onward journey. Hope and wish the Metro here chronicles a new growth story… changing the lives of the local people, making commute easy for them. Railfan Soumya signs off wishing Metro Railway Kolkata All the Best for its future endeavours.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 16:39:24 +0000
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