Kolkata metro may start operating on three new stretches by the end of this month, said a senior official of the city’s metro operator ‘Metro Railway Kolkata’ on Wednesday.
This comes after railway board chairman Satish Kumar inspected East-West metro’s 2.6 km long Esplanade–Sealdah section and the Noapara–Airport stretch during his two-day visit.
"We are hopeful that with the Commissioner of Railway Safety giving nod to the East-West Metro’s 2.6 km stretch between Esplanade and Sealdah earlier and after the visit of the Railway Board Chairman, the entire Green Line connecting Howrah Maidan–Salt Lake Sector V will be open for commuters by August itself," PTI cited the spokesperson as saying.
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"This will help Salt Lake-bound commuters who currently have to get down at Esplanade from the Howrah side and then navigate congested traffic to reach Sealdah for a connecting metro to Sector V. It will ease their hardships and improve connectivity to a great extent," the spokesperson added.
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New Kolkata metro stretches may operate from September
{{/usCountry}}Also read: Bengaluru Metro's Yellow-Green crossover caught on camera, video goes viral
New Kolkata metro stretches may operate from September
{{/usCountry}}After August, Kolkata’s metro network may expand in September too as two more key stretches have received all mandatory clearances. The Yellow line’s first phase — the Noapara–Airport corridor — and the Orange line’s Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (Ruby More)–Beleghata corridor, which 4.5 km long, are now in wait of a nod from the PMO to start operations by next month, the spokesperson said.
"Big cities have their metro services connected with the airport. The Noapara-Airport corridor opening will serve that need," he added.
The Ruby–Beleghata stretch will come as a relief for passengers traveling from the partially operational Kavi Subhash (New Garia) line to reach Salt Lake’s entry point and interchange at the nearby Phoolbagan metro station on the Green Line or take connecting transport to the IT hub at Sector V, Nicco Park, Karunamoyee, or City Centre 1, said the PTI report.