Joka-Taratala commercial service: 'Metro likely to use paper tickets for a few days'

Kolkata: Metro Railway may use paper tickets for the initial few days after starting the commercial run of the Joka-Taratala metro service, sources said.

According to a senior Metro Railway official, nothing is certain and for now, they are trying their level-best to start with smart cards and tokens only.

The Joka-Taratala metro line has six metro stations. Smart gates are yet to be installed in all these six metro stations. Since, there is pressure mounting to commence the commercial metro services as soon as possible, the officials may opt for paper tickets for the first couple of days and then switch to the token and smart card system. "We are committed to bringing the Joka-Taratala metro service to the people and are trying our best to begin the services with all security checks," a Metro Railway official said.

According to an agency report, the smart gates will take time to arrive from Korea. Once the gates arrive, the smart card and token system, like the other metro corridors, will be implemented.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) gave the green signal to begin the commercial service of the Joka-Taratala Metro.

The services may start soon, however, according to a Metro official, the date has not been decided yet. Initially, the One Train Only System will commence on this stretch, which has six stations, including Joka, Thakurpukur, Sakherbazar, Behala Chowrasta, Behala Bazar, and Taratala. Work is underway for the remaining part of the line, which will eventually connect Esplanade at the heart of the city to the southwestern suburbs. At Esplanade, the Joka Line will meet the North-South corridor and the East-West Metro, according to the plan. In Joka to Esplanade purple line, a total length of 9.2 kilometres viaduct has been completed from the ramp of Joka depot to the start of Majerhat station.

A total of Rs 2,477.25 crore expenditure by IR has been incurred to accomplish this project out of which Rs 635 crore has been spent to set up the Metro Car Depot at Joka. In addition, the first phase of the Kavi Subhash to Airport Metro project (Orange Line) from Kavi Subhash to Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, which stretches over 5.4 kilometres is also likely to be inaugurated soon.