Kolkata: In a landmark move to enhance urban mobility, three new Metro stretches have been inaugurated across the city. These additions mark one of the largest single-day expansions of the Kolkata Metro, encompassing 13.61 km of track.
The highlight of the expansion is the Yellow Line connecting Noapara to Jai Hind Bimanbandar station at the airport. What once took almost one hour by road can now be covered in just 11 minutes by Metro, while a journey from Esplanade to the airport has been cut down to around half-an-hour. The station itself has been built entirely underground with modern facilities and a direct link to the airport terminal. This 6.87 km route will have 120 services daily at 15-minute intervals. Services will remain closed on weekends initially. The inauguration also marked the opening of a 2.45 km Green Line extension between Sealdah and Esplanade. This stretch connects the city’s busiest railway hubs, creating a seamless corridor for lakhs of daily commuters. A total of 186 trains will run at an interval of 8 minutes on weekdays, while Sundays will see 104 services at 15-minute intervals.
The Orange Line has been extended by 4.4 km from Hemanta Mukhopadhyay station near Ruby Crossing to Beleghata, offering faster access to Science City, several hospitals, schools and the expanding IT corridor. 60 services will be provided initially on weekdays, with 25-minute intervals between trains. Though the Noapara–Bimanbandar section of the Yellow Line and the extended Orange Line (Beleghata–Hemanta Mukhopadhyay) will be open for commercial service from Monday, passenger response has already been encouraging.
The Metro Railway has fixed fares in line with existing slabs, beginning at Rs 5 for journeys up to 2 km. Travelling between 2 and 5 km costs Rs 10, while rides from 5 to 10 km are priced at Rs 20. For medium-distance travel, the fare is Rs 30 for 10-20 km and Rs 40 for 20-30 km. Longer journeys beyond 30 km can go up to Rs 70, depending on the stretch. For instance, a trip from the airport to Jessore Road costs only Rs 5, while rides from the airport to Noapara are Rs 20, to Esplanade Rs 40, to Kavi Subhash Rs 45, to
Howrah Rs 50, to Ruby Crossing Rs 65 and all the way to Sector V Rs 70.
This new fare structure, nearly double the rates on older Blue Line routes for equivalent distances, has generated significant commuter debate- raising questions about fare consistency across a single transit network.
“Earlier it took me nearly two hours each way by bus from Sodepur to Sealdah and then on to Howrah by bus. Now with the Metro, the same journey takes just 50 minutes to an hour — I’ll save at least an hour every day,” said a student of Narasinha Dutt College, Howrah.