Kolkata, July 31: The East-West Metro in Kolkata is eyeing at revenues from advertisements on tokens and smartcards on one side. According to a Times of India report, the tokens and smart cards will be made of polymers, so that ads can be placed on them. Kolkata Metro Passenger Dies After Train Takes Off with His Hand Stuck Between Gates at Park Street Station, Services Suspended.

The East-West Metro project, to be completed by 2021, will also have the county's first underwater tunnel.  Commuters between Howrah and Mahakaran metro stations will be under the river for only about a minute when the train will pass through the tunnel at a speed of 80 km per hour.

Unlike, the north-south line, the East-West Metro's polymer-made tokens will earn non-operating revenue as well. Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, implementing the East-West Metro project has taken a cue from the Delhi Metros which is already generating revenues from ads on tokens and smartcards.

The state fire services department has cleared the pending fire licenses for the two East-West Metro stations, Bengal Chemical and Salt Lake Stadium last week. This ends the two-month-long deadlock that had threatened to cut short East-West Metro’s already truncated 5km Salt Lake run to 3.5km. The fire safety nods issued, are temporary and valid only for a year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2019 01:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).