The New Garia Metro station will be rebuilt with a reinforced design featuring additional underground piles, columns, and enhanced structural support. Parts of the station are being demolished and will be reconstructed after cracks were detected in the Dakshineswar-bound Up platform of Kavi Subhash station on the north-south corridor (Blue Line), forcing Metro authorities to suspend passenger services earlier this week.
“Safety will be our top priority,” said P. Uday Kumar Reddy, general manager of Metro Rail, on Friday. “The new platform will have more underground piles and additional columns to handle the load. We will also provide extra support to the cantilever platform.” A cantilever platform is fixed at one end and extends horizontally without support at the other.
Metro officials explained that the original structure used deep pile foundations — up to 22 metres deep — arranged in groups of two to four. “All designs followed established engineering standards,” said an official.
Reddy, the Metro general manager, clarified that while cracks have developed in the columns, the piles and pile caps remain intact. “We are investigating the cause of these cracks,” he said.
Engineering consultancy RITES has submitted a reconstruction design. “We will also seek feedback from institutions like the IITs,” said Reddy. “The technology for the reconstruction will remain the same, but the design will be changed.”
The rebuilding will be phased, with demolition scheduled for completion before Durga Puja. “We aim to finish the new station within nine months of demolition,” Reddy added.
Commissioned in October 2010, the New Garia station showed early signs of structural stress in 2014, when cracks were first noticed during a routine check. “We were monitoring the situation and had floated tenders for reconstruction after Puja,” said a Metro official. However, recent heavy rains worsened the cracks.
Passengers now have to board Dakshineswar-bound trains from Shahid Khudiram or Briji stations.
“We will resume services as soon as it is safe,” Reddy said.