The city was designed by the British and could not cope up with the conditions of modern traffic

increase. There were different commissions set up to check for the feasibility of sub urban train lines. There were reports by different commissions to up over-ground circular railways.

The 1st commission to consider the underground metro system was the FRENCH METRO MISSION in 1949. The French Metro Mission had proposed a two electrified routes from Howrah maidan to Sealdah (3.91miles) and another from Paikpara to Kalighat (7.14 miles). The report proposed that both the route to be electrified and the ultimate capacity of the system be 50,000 passenger per hour.

Cities London Paris

New York Moscow Tokyo Kolkata

Population (in millions) 7.0 8.5

17.2 8.0 24.3 9.0

Kilometers of rapid transit line 410 240

370 182 190 10

Year of operation 1863 1900

1868 1935 1927 1984

Historical Background of Metro

- Kolkata was first Metro. - Idea in 1949 by Chief Minister. Metropolitan Transport Project (MTP) setup in 1969 under Ministry of Railways - Work of first line sanctioned in 1972. - Work started in 197374 and completed in 1995 in 6 parts, first in Oct, 1984. DumDum (Airport) to Tollygunge 16.4 Kms.,17 stations entirely underground. - Delays due to paucity of funds, u/g utilities, court injunctions, non-availability of vital material.

The land is flat and clayey in nature. Most of it alluvial deposits due to the river delta formation. The maximum elevation of the land is 9m with and average elevation of 6m from sea level. The land mass on the east and western sides are tidal marsh land.

The climate is tropical. There are distinct seasons. There is a hot season followed by the monsoons and a dry cold season.
Highest ever recorded temperature Lowest recorded temperature Highest rainfall in 24 hours Highest humidity 43.9C in June,1924 6.1C in January, 1962 369.6mm (28-9-78) 100%

Drainage is a major factor in any underground construction since any underground is prone to flooding. The drainage is done by sewer system which is managed by Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Due to heavy rains and flooding the metro station entry is kept at 500mm above the highest flood point at the location.

Name of the station Tollygunge Kalighat Rabindra Sadan Park Street Chandni Chowk M G Road Syambazar Dumdum Jn

Level of crown of road (meters) +4.98 +4.26 +4.17 +5.10 +5.7 +3.96 +5.43 Elevated station

Highest flood level (meters) +5.16 +4.36 +4.65 +5.10 +5.7 +4.64 +5.53

India lies in an earthquake belt and many regions are subjected to frequent earthquake thus the seismic monitoring is very important before construction. Kolkata falls in seismic ZONE III with and horizontal seismic coefficient of 0.04 to 0.06.

Preliminary soil investigation was done by 50m borehole at 500m. Detailed investigation was done by sinking 30m borehole at 100m interval. The primary strata is Gangetic alluvium no borehole has been able to penetrate beyond it. The top soil is soft except for the upper layer which is firm and stiffness increases as depth inceases.

Top stratum (reduced level Approx in meters) Highest Stratum I Stratum II Stratum III Stratum IV Stratum V Stratum VI
Light brown sandy silt Grey or dark silty clay with semi decomposed timber Bluish grey silty clay Brown sandy silt Brown or grey clay Brown or light brown silty fine sand

Lowest generally at 0.00 -11.5 -17.5 -22.0 -35.0 -45.0

Ground level +0.25 -8.0 -13.0 -15.0 -30.0

Stratum type

Natural moisture content 30 55 30 26 to 32 22 to 25 29 to 30

Cohesion C Kg/cm2 0.28 0.28 0.56 0.42 1.05 --

Angle of friction degree 0 0 0 15 to 33 Av 32 0 40

Stratum I Stratum II Stratum III Stratum IV Stratum V Stratum VI

There was a huge traffic congestion in the central business district of Kolkata.
Type of transport In bound traffic Morning peak hours Tram 48,019 Daily total 3,91,230 Outbound traffic Evening peak hours 43,247 Daily total 3,79,661

Bus
Total

36,278
84,294

3,44,685
7,35,915

33,247
76,970

3,39,986
7,19,647

Road area is not adequate to support the amount of traffic we have. Uneven footpath allocation and utilization. Some areas have 6 to 10 feet wide footpath where no people walks. 80% of Kolkata footpath is occupied by hawkers. Our habit - we do not like to walk on footpath. Even where there is no hawker on footpath people prefer to walk on road. All the road sides are used for parking for Taxi, Private cars, School bus etc. Not enough or none at all parking spaces available. People walking on road never want to abide by the signal.

Stations Dum Dum Syambazar

Predicted passenger entry per day in 1990 1,23,000 1,43,000

M G Road
Esplanade Park street Kalighat Tollygunge

1,02,000
1,23,000 51,000 1,71,000 1,96,000

The transit system is chosen to be a double rail system and mostly underground as there was no space for over ground space for construction of that magnitude. The 1st transit line was for Rapid Transport System was to be constructed between DumDum in the north and Tollygunge in the south. The stations are approximately 1km apart and is located at places of public interest.

After the route was fixed the main thing used in the system the coach dimensions other factors like moving dimension and fixed dimensions are calculated. This was used to predict the required clearance for peak hour traffic. Based on these calculations and dimensions the fleet of cars were decided. This helped in calculation of peak hour traffic and gave an average idea of the dimensions of the stations and platforms based on the peak rush hour passengers.

In case of Kolkata metro the signaling system of international standard is considered such that trains can be run at close intervals to each other. The frequency of the trains are scaled up or down during peak hours and off peak hours thus increasing passenger carrying efficiency. The optimum rake size that was to be allowed was
Length over couplers Width Height 20.3 meters 2.74 meters 3.70 meters

Station stop time is a important factor to be planned . The station stop time should be such that it gives enough time for passengers to de board and get aboard the train while now allowing the train to idle in the platform for too long. The optimum time was predicted to be 30 sec per station while the average speed of 35km/hr with a top speed of 80km/hr.

General features
Gauge 1676mm (5-6)

Length a) Centre to centre of the termini b) Total length c) Length of connection to car depot d) Total including car depot

16.450km 17.185km 0.877km 18.062km

Number of station A. Underground stations B. Elevated C. Surface

15 1 1

Distance between stations A. Average 1.028km B. Maximum 2.151km (DumDum to Belgachia) C. Minimum 0.597km(Chandni Chowk to Central)

Expected traffic when full section is opened

Average weekday traffic 1. Year of opening 2. 5 years after opening 3. 12 years after opening One way peak hour volume 1. Year of opening 2. 5 years of opening 3. 12 years of opening Average trip length 1.32 million 1.53 million 1.73 million

51,000 passengers 60,000 passengers 67,000 passengers 6.80 km

Train frequency during peak hours 1. Year of opening 24 pairs/hr 2. 5 years after opening 28 pairs/hr 3. 12 years after opening 31 pairs/hr 4. Theoretical 40 pairs/hr Number of trains per day 1. Year of opening 2. 5 years after opening 3. 12 years after opening

311 374 429

Number of coaches to be procured 1. Year of opening 232 2. 5 years after opening 264 3. 12 years after opening 304 Train composition 8 coaches 163 in length 1. Driving coach 2 2. Non driving motor coach 4 3. Trailer coach 2 Class of accommodation One class

Carrying capacity 1. Driving motor coach 42 sitting 259 standing 2. Non driving coach 48 sitting 278 standing 3. Trailer coach 48 sitting 278 standing 4. Total 8 coaches 372 sitting 2186 standing Coach dimension 1. Length (buffer to buffer) 20.40 m 2. Width (outer to outer) 2.74 m 3. Height (above rail level) 3.70 m 4. Maximum axle load 17.00 tones

Acceleration 1. Maximum 2. Jerk rate Deceleration 1. Service 2. Emergency Speed 1. Maximum 2. Schedule Station stop time

1.1 m/sec2 0.75 m/sec2 1.1 m/sec2 1.3 m/sec2 80 km/hr 30 km/hr 30 sec

Traction system A. Voltage 750v DC B. Current collector 3rd rail (return running rail ) C. Braking electro dynamic and pneumatic D. Motors Bhel 93KW 338v 310 A NGEF 160KW 675v 265 A Controls rheostatic and thyristor/ GTO Door operation electro pneumatic

Main parameters 1. Max temperature (in stations) 30 C 2. Max temperature (in tunnels) 32.8 C 3. Max relative humidity (stations) 87% 4. Max relative humidity (tunnels) 77% 5. Max air velocity (stations) 3m/sec 6. Max air velocity (tunnels) 2.5m/sec 7. Air changes in station 29 times per hour 8. Air changes in tunnels 12 times per hour

Method of construction 1. Reinforced concrete box 2. Driven tunnel with C.I or R.C 3. Elevated length 4. Surface trough 5. Total

13.874 km 1.232 km 1.584 km 1.372 km 18.062 km

Platforms Length All Height above rails

DumDum Central

170m 1.03m
2 side platform 5.0m & 7.0m wide
One island platform 8.26m and 2 side ones with 4.13m

Type and width

Park street
Tollygunge Other stations

2 side platform of 5.5 m each

2 side platform 6.0m wide Island platform 10.26m and 8.26m and 1.03m

Depth of station Underground station depth of station from ground level maximum at central 12.854 m minimum at park street 6.920 m Elevated station height above ground Height above ground 6.975 m

Box tunnel dimensions Box section Tangent track 8.19 X 4.64 m internal Curved track 200m rad 9.04X4.15 m internal Bored tunnel Single track 5.10 m internal dia 5.50 m external dia Horizontal alignment minimum rad of curvature In block section 200m In stations 1000m

Gradient abstract Steepest grade In running line In connection to depot

Longest continuous length of gradient in running line Level line longest length

1 in 50 1 in 25 0.726km

0.627km

Vertical alignment Gradient a) Max running line gradient b) Min track gradient between station c) Max track gradient in coach depot d) Min track gradient at station e) Max track gradient at station
Vertical curve Min radius of vertical curve

2% 0.3 4% 0.2% 0.2%

2000m

Curve abstract Ratio of total curve length Tollygunge to Dumdum Dumdum to Tollygunge

38.84% 38.47%

Average amount of curvature per Km Tollygunge to Dumdum 388 m Dumdum to Tollygunge 384.7m

Track structure a) Main tracks are ballast less and consists of 60kg rails with elastic fastenings on concrete bed. b) In the depots the tracks consists of 44.61 kg/m or 90R rails on sleepers resting on ballasts. c) 1 in 10 points and crossings are on wooden sleepers resting in ballast in running lines and 1 in 8 for car depot.

Most of the underground tunnels was done by using cut and cover method. In cases where the tunnel had to go under a water body like near Syambazar shield tunneling was done Shield tunneling was also used to tunnel under the Chitpur rail yards where the rail yard couldnt be closed for construction

Traffic Diversions Environment- Washing of rake and Low Noise of Equipments Utilities Safety Independent safety organization of Contractor/GC Barricading & controlled Access of sites Risk analysis before activity starts Exhaustive Instrumentation

The next step of planning was to predict the tunnel dimensions. The factors that were to be considered while planning tunnel dimensions are the size of cars and moving dimension and maximum permissible speed of the rakes. The dimensions were decided by Indian Rlys Schedule and also from world practices.

The tunnels are chosen to allow rakes of 4.64 m in width and on the curved section the rakes have an tolerance up to 5.515m. The overall average internal dimension of the tunnel is 8.190 m X 4.640 m. In case of bored tunnel the diameter is 5.1 m for single track. The platform width is approximately 6m on average with maximum width of 10m and height of 5.20m from the floor.

Majority of the tunnel was under main city roads there was a problem and traffic had to be diverted and also utility like gas, power, water and telephones had to be diverted for construction. The majority of the utility was supported by struts and other support above the construction site while work continued underneath them. H-piles where sunk to support the brackets which in turn held up the struts to support the utility lines. Most of the excavation work was done manually and was thus very labor intensive. The gas lines had to be turned off or redirected during the construction and excavation phase

During the cut and cover design the main construction was done by constructing a diaphragm wall and then the excavation took place. The walls were approximately 10 m apart where there were normal parallel tracks and about 19m apart where there were stations. The excavation depth ranged from 12 m to 14 m. The diaphragm wall was held in place by struts of 3 to 5 levels depending on the depth and nature of the soil at the site.

Diaphragm walls Sheet piles Sheet piles with timber Open cut

12.687 km 0.365 km 0.684 km 0.937 km

Batching plants Dumpers Bentonite mixing units Vertical spindle type Bentonite pump (P & H) Tata 320 crane Grab Heavy Form tube 600 mm diameter Tremmie pipes 200 mm diameter with funnel Bailer Chisel Power Winch Tripod Scrapper Mobile Bentonite tank Welding plant Gas cutting unit

1 No 3 No 1 No 2 No 2 No 2 No 2 No 2 No 1 No 1 No 1 No 1 No 1 No 1 No 2 No 1 No

The main excavations for the diaphragm wall was done by use of GRABS mounted on the cranes and were guided by telescopic guides. The length of each panel varied from 3 m to 6 m and the depth varied from 16 m to 23 m. The excavated volume was filled with Bentonite slurry to prevent the collapse of the excavation. Then reinforcement cages were lowered and concrete of grade M-200 was poured into the excavation sealing the bottom of the cage. As the concrete is pumped in more and more the Bentonite is pumped out and is poured back in tanks for recycling and reuse. Some places where there had to openings made for ducts and passenger exits hollow cages were used which used a framework of beam and ducts for exposing the areas to be cut later.

Excessive cut The walls are constructed with a tolerance limit of 1 to 60 mostly the excavation went smoothly but in area near Bhowanipore (Km 12.50 to Km 13.50) the shapes of the walls are irregular due to the bad soil condition there were internal collapses and sometimes due to over grabbing of soil. Again at Km 13.10 to Km 13.80 due to clayey soil and sand the soil could not hold its shape it collapsed into small pockets. Thus the walls in these locations are irregular and they had to be laboriously chiseled into shape. Jamming of end pipes There were steel cylindrical pipes made of sheet steel. These were to hold the cages in position when there would pouring of concrete. They were to be removed as the concrete settles in. in some case the pipes got jammed and concrete had to be poured in the pipe cores and they were made integral part of the diaphragm walls. Incomplete grabbing to the full length In some areas grabbing to the full length was unsuccessful due to the soil conditions. The grabbing had to be stopped when a compact sand layer was encountered. To overcome the problem jets were used to loosen up the sand but in most cases it was unsuccessful. The diaphragm walls were prematurely terminated and could not achieve full length. Segregation of concrete The concrete poured had heavy segregation and also there were blank pockets in the diaphragm wall. These problems were seen when excavation was being done and then concrete was poured into the blank pockets to seal them up.

Delay in Approval of Detailed Project Report (DPR) Land Acquisition risks Design Risks Technology Selection Risks Approval and Permit Risks Financial and Investment Risks Political Risks Environment Related Risks Geo-technical Risks Major / Minor Accidents during Execution Unforeseen Heavy Rains Force Majeure Risks like Flood, Fire, Earthquake etc. Labor Agitation and Strikes Inflation Risk Delayed Payment from Client Delayed Payment to Subcontractor

Since the metro was mostly built under the city the land acquisition was not a problem for the main running tracks. The land to be acquired for the construction of depots at Tollygunge and Dumdum was a issue but was sorted out. Land was also needed to acquired for the construction of the station exits and ventilation shafts.

Land in acres Eastern railways Ministry of defense CMC & Baranagar municipality Govt of Bengal relief and rehabilitation department Tollygunge club Private parties 9.52 1.702 74.81 18.37 21.56 178.00

Nearly 261.00 acres of land was acquired for the construction of the shed near dumdum station. Most of the land belonged to Eastern Railways and was a part of the track embankment. The rest of land belonged to CMC and Baranagar municipality and was used as a dumping ground.

Location

Area

Talla park

6258 sq m

Desbandhu park

2823 sq m

D N Mitra Square

2040 sq m

Southern park

4098 sq m

Settlement of ground during cut and cover is a common occurrence. It is a common practice to strengthen old building and monuments before the start of the construction. In the Tollygunge Esplanade section there were stray cracks due to soil settlement. In Bhawanipore area where the buildings are of old masonry and shallow foundations there were large cracks. Metro authority was responsible for these repairs.

Subsoil profile and properties of soil. 2. Shape and depth of excavation. 3. Type and stiffness of support system. 4. Sequence and method of construction. 5. Time of construction In Kolkata the major factors were 1. Spacing between the struts (specially 1st & 2nd) 2. Time effect
1.

Before the excavation was started all masonry buildings over 40 years old were surveyed and put under observation. Plumb lines and other monitoring equipment were installed at convenient locations. Whenever they showed any signs of cracks the building was repaired and the soil was grouted.

Stations were designed so that they do not look dull and monotonous. The flooring is marble in most stations while the pillars are colorful tiles and designs. Murals were put up at different places to have a lively atmosphere. Historical painting replica and other lightings brighten up the atmosphere in the stations.

The metro system in Kolkata though a old one is one of efficient systems in India for public transport. The system was planned to match up to international standards of metro railway. The system is now a little backdated compared to the modern metro system that are newly constructed since it was conceived in 1980.

Kolkata metro published manual 1995. Kolkata metro electrical and track maintenance manual. Wikipedia.org KMRC official web site And a special thanks to my friends and fellow Railfans who provided me the pictures (Saugata sengupta and Siddhartha Mukherjee)