Kolkata: Kalighat Station recorded the highest footfall on the Kolkata Metro network this Durga Puja, handling over 4.06 lakh passengers between Panchami (September 27) and Dashami (October 2) out of the network’s total festive ridership of 46.56 lakh.
According to the station-wise figures released on Saturday, Dum Dum followed Kalighat with 3.95 lakh passengers, while Sovabazar-Sutanuti ranked third with 2.88 lakh. On the Green Line (Howrah Maidan–Salt Lake Sector V), Sealdah was the busiest station, taking the fourth spot overall with 2.68 lakh commuters, narrowly ahead of Howrah, which recorded 2.65 lakh. Metro officials said the strong footfall at Howrah and Sealdah highlighted the growing preference of suburban passengers for Metro services to reach various destinations in Kolkata. The next five busiest stations were Esplanade (2.57 lakh), Rabindra Sarobar (1.85 lakh), Dakshineswar (1.81 lakh), Shyambazar (1.74 lakh) and Belgachia (1.65 lakh). Ridership peaked on Panchami with 9.82 lakh passengers, the highest single-day figure in the network’s history. Daily traffic remained strong throughout the festival — 8.33 lakh on Sasthi, 9.04 lakh on Saptami, 8.28 lakh on Ashtami, 8.16 lakh on Navami and 2.93 lakh on Dashami. The Blue Line (Dakshineswar–Shahid Khudiram) accounted for the majority of festive travel, while the Green Line ranked second in overall ridership.