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Our Bureau

Kolkata , Nov. 3

Kolkata's metro rail will soon float tenders inviting bids from reputed firms for installation of the auto signalling system along the 25-km stretch of the underground rail network.

Right now, the length of the network is 16.45 km, being extended by another 8.7 km to be ready by December 2007.

The job is estimated at Rs 55 crore and the metro rail board has already approved it.

The signalling system is 22-years-old. It is called absolute block system, which is inadequate to come up to the present day requirement.

The proposed auto signalling system, apart from ensuring operational convenience, will also improve section capacity and therefore the train frequency.

Right now, the frequency is at every seven minutes at the peak hour. It will be reduced to five minutes, according to metro rail sources.

The signs of ageing are also showing up in other spheres of the local metro rail.

The doors would not often function properly as the coaches are 1980s vintage, there is no air-conditioning, the ticketing system is obsolete and fare structure different and there is a surplus manpower. No wonder, the country's first underground network continues to be in the red.

One hopes that along with the signalling system, other systems of Kolkata metro too will be modernised before December 2007.

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