Metro trains on the Blue Line or the north-south corridor will not run between Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (Tollygunge) and Shahid Khudiram (Briji) till 3.40pm on Sunday.

Usually, Sunday services on the Blue Line start at 9am. But on August 31, the first trains will leave at 7am to facilitate the movement of candidates appearing for the Miscellaneous Services Recruitment (Final) Examination.

The carrier will start working on setting up a reversal point at Shahid Khudiram, the first step in mitigating the regular train delays and overcrowding on the most populous Metro link.

“No Metro services will be available between Shahid Khudiram and Mahanayak Uttam Kumar stations of the Blue Line up to 3.40pm on Sunday for rake reversal facility work at Shahid Khudiram station. Metro services from Shahid Khudiram will start at 3.40pm on Sunday,” said a Metro spokesperson.

A total of 138 services will be operated, instead of the usual Sunday count of 130, the official said.

Till Shahid Khudiram is out of bounds, the trains will run between Dakshineswar and Tollygunge. Tollygunge, which used to be the southern terminal, has a rake reversal point.

Shahid Khudiram has become the new southern terminal after July 28, when commercial services were suspended at Kavi Subhash (New Garia) station following cracks in platform pillars.

Since Shahid Khudiram was not built as a terminal station, it did not have a reversal point. The trains have been taking longer than usual to switch tracks at the station, causing a spiralling effect that is affecting the entire corridor.

Packed trains and overcrowded platforms have been a recurrent sight across Metro stations.