Kolkata: The Kolkata Metro completed the first phase of its upgrade of the third rail of the north-south Blue Line yesterday.
The steel third rail was replaced with aluminium at the Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (Tollygunge) station.
This first phase covered the down line (New Garia bound) from Shyambazar to Tollygunge and the up line (Dakhineswar bound) between Shyambazar and Park Street.
The second phase will cover the line between Park Street and Tollygunge and both the lines between Shyambazar and Dum Dum. This will be completed by December 2025.
Thr third phase will cover the line between Tollygunge and Kabi Subhas (New Garia). All upgrades happened after commercial hours.
The aluminium third rail will help Kolkata Metro save energy. It can also run trains at shorter intervals.
Currently, the interval between two trains during rush hours is five minutes. Once the entire 34km stretch of the Blue Line gets an aluminium third rail, this will come down to two and a half minutes.
Aluminium is a better conductor than steel. So an aluminium third rail will reduce the system voltage drops and subsequent energy losses. Less voltage drops will help in faster acceleration of trains.
Metros in London, Munich, Moscow, Istanbul and multiple other cities have an aluminium third rail. The main component arrived from Hamburg last year.
The preparatory work started in Girish Park and Maidan yards last year.
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