Kolkata: The Kolkata Green Line of the East-West Metro is witnessing a surge in passengers, with nearly 1.9 lakh commuters travelling on Thursday. The stretch between Sector V and Howrah Maidan earned close to Rs 32 lakh in a single day. Officials anticipated revenue to cross Rs 36 lakh by Friday. However, the turnout dipped slightly on Friday because of Ganesh Puja.
Despite additional measures, Metro staff struggled to handle the swelling queues and crowded paid areas. Howrah Maidan, Howrah, Sealdah and Sector V stations were the busiest, remaining packed well beyond peak hours. While Howrah and Sealdah handled around 83,000-85,000 passengers daily, Sector V saw an extraordinary jump, as its usual 12,000 commuters soared to nearly 45,000. Ticket sales at these stations have tripled compared to last week, when the Green Line still operated in two disconnected sections.
The sudden rise in ridership comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the final 2.6 km-link between Esplanade and Sealdah earlier this week. With this, the Green Line now covers its complete 16.6 km route from Sector V to Howrah Maidan. On the first working day after the extension opened, passenger numbers shot up by about 76,000, reaching 1.87 lakh, compared to the same day a week earlier.
Across the entire Kolkata Metro network, ridership on Monday crossed 7.7 lakh, with the Blue Line alone carrying over 5.6 lakh passengers. The Green Line’s earnings have more than doubled since the new link began, marking a 124 per cent jump in revenue.