WHAT HAPPENED
Kolkata Metro general manager Prem Sagar Gupta told The Times of India on Friday that the 4.5 km Orange Line extension from Beleghata to Sector V (IT Centre) will be ready by the end of December or the first week of January. He denied reports that Metro had written to the Prime Minister’s Office proposing a 17 December inauguration. Trial runs with CBTC signalling are under way and are likely to continue through most of November, after which the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) will inspect the stretch. RVNL is building the extension, and the first trial ran on 10 October.
WHY IT MATTERS
The extension adds Gour Kishore Ghosh, Nalban and Sector V stations and will take the Orange Line past 15 km from its current 9 km between Kavi Subhas and Beleghata. Political pressure is building as well: Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari asked Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday to invite the Prime Minister to open the line before the Kolkata International Film Festival in December.
EXPERT VIEW
The GM’s window holds only if CBTC trials close on schedule, since signalling sign-off is usually the slowest step before a CRS visit. A December opening timed to the film festival would need the CRS inspection done in the first half of the month, which leaves little room for snags. We expect passenger services between Beleghata and Sector V to begin by 15 January 2027 rather than in December. Confidence: medium.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
If you commute to Sector V, keep your current route for now and do not plan around a December start. Watch for the CRS inspection date, the clearest sign that opening is only weeks away. This report rests on a single source, so treat the dates as provisional.
SOURCES
The Times of India, 30 October 2026, read the report
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