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Howrah: Kolkata’s twin has got a new icon — East-West Metro’s terminal Howrah Maidan station, which is said to be one of the prettiest Metro stations in India. The terracotta entry and exit points, artfully covered with toughened glass canopy, seem to have changed the skyline of Howrah Maidan.
TOI on Monday walked through the stylish brick red exteriors (one of the entrances stands 25m tall) to peek into East-West Metro’s last station across the river. Afcons, the construction major contracted to build the 3.8km Howrah Maidan-Esplanade segment, scanned Bishnupur and other places for the terracotta tiles and eventually had them exported from Vietnam. The tiles and toughened glass panels are demountable and can be replaced in five minutes, if ever damaged. The landscaped island in front of the station revolves around the theme of sports. Like East-West’s Salt Lake Stadium station, the metallic interior walls and murals also illustrate the sports theme of Howrah Maidan station, which has a football stadium nearby. This terminal Metro station is unique in many ways. Its crossover is at the end of the tunnels and not the end of the station premises. So, trains will make a U-turn ahead of the platforms. There’s a state-of-the-art tunnel ventilation shaft that will be almost silent when it starts blowing the air in and out as part of a strong environmental control system.
“It was a huge challenge to build such an exquisite station in the middle of the congested Howrah Maidan,” said an engineer of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), the implementing agency of the Rs 8,576crore East-West Metro project.
This East-West station has modern features and passenger amenities like drinking water and toilets. Following international standard safety guidelines, it has two fire exits and an automatic and centrally-controlled fire-fighting network. Every door is fire-proof. The station looks complete. Platform screen doors have been fitted while lifts and elevators will be installed soon.
TOI on Monday walked through the stylish brick red exteriors (one of the entrances stands 25m tall) to peek into East-West Metro’s last station across the river. Afcons, the construction major contracted to build the 3.8km Howrah Maidan-Esplanade segment, scanned Bishnupur and other places for the terracotta tiles and eventually had them exported from Vietnam. The tiles and toughened glass panels are demountable and can be replaced in five minutes, if ever damaged. The landscaped island in front of the station revolves around the theme of sports. Like East-West’s Salt Lake Stadium station, the metallic interior walls and murals also illustrate the sports theme of Howrah Maidan station, which has a football stadium nearby. This terminal Metro station is unique in many ways. Its crossover is at the end of the tunnels and not the end of the station premises. So, trains will make a U-turn ahead of the platforms. There’s a state-of-the-art tunnel ventilation shaft that will be almost silent when it starts blowing the air in and out as part of a strong environmental control system.
“It was a huge challenge to build such an exquisite station in the middle of the congested Howrah Maidan,” said an engineer of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), the implementing agency of the Rs 8,576crore East-West Metro project.
This East-West station has modern features and passenger amenities like drinking water and toilets. Following international standard safety guidelines, it has two fire exits and an automatic and centrally-controlled fire-fighting network. Every door is fire-proof. The station looks complete. Platform screen doors have been fitted while lifts and elevators will be installed soon.
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