India to add 60 new Kolkata Metro trains in five years

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Saturday that sixty next-generation trains will be introduced for the Kolkata Metro over the next five years, following a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in Kolkata. The meeting, focused on coordinating railway projects in the state, signaled a new phase of cooperation between the central and state governments aimed at accelerating long-pending infrastructure work.

Minister Vaishnaw stated that railway and metro projects in West Bengal had faced significant delays due to what he described as a lack of cooperation from the previous state government, citing hurdles over permissions, land acquisition, and legal challenges. He alleged that even routine clearances were stalled, impacting key projects. As an example, he pointed to the Chingrighata stretch of the Kolkata Metro, stating that legal challenges were filed in the Calcutta High Court and later the Supreme Court, which delayed the project.

In contrast, Vaishnaw asserted that the pace of metro development accelerated after 2014. He said that while only 28 kilometers of the Kolkata Metro network were completed in the 42 years prior, an additional 45...