On Chaturthi, footfall of over 7L in North-South Metro corridor

Kolkata: Metro Railway on Thursday (Chaturthi) witnessed a footfall of over seven lakh in the North-South Metro corridor. The highest footfall was recorded at Dum Dum Metro station at 88,687.

From Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash, the Metro ran 288 services, carrying around 7,10,521 passengers. Last time when the Metro footfall had surpassed the seven lakh mark was on November 27, 2019. According to Metro Railway, the total earning by selling tokens, smart cards and recharging of smart cards amounted to

Rs 1,06,81,387. Meanwhile, on Thursday, the East-West Metro corridor witnessed 42,866 passenger footfall.

After Dum Dum, Esplanade recorded 52,127 footfall, Kalighat 44,997 and Rabindra Sadan witnessed a footfall of 41,962. According to one of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel at Rabindra Sadan Metro station, the density of the crowd started increasing after evening hours and continued to remain so till the last train service.

According to officials, all possible measures have been taken to cater to the expected rush during Durga Puja days. Apart from extending the service time to all night and arranging security forces for vulnerable stations, Metro Railway will also open additional booking counters at any station if the situation demands. In case of extra demand, additional tokens and smart cards will also be provided at booking counters. However, the officials have urged commuters to use the Metro Ride Kolkata app to avoid long queues.

Rolling stock troubleshooting staff will be deployed at stations to attend any snag in rakes as well as escalators and lifts. "May I help you" booths will be opened at all important stations for the assistance of pandal-hoppers.