Kolkata Metro segregates Yellow & Blue lines to ease congestion after Kavi Subhash closure

Kolkata: Just a week after the Yellow Line (Airport–Noapara) began commercial operations on August 25, Metro Railway has segregated it from the Blue Line (Noapara–Shahid Khudiram) to reduce cascading delays caused by the suspension of services at Kavi Subhash.

The Kavi Subhash (New Garia) terminal has remained shut since July 28 after cracks appeared in columns on the Dakshineswar-bound platform. The disruption coincided with the full opening of the Green Line (Howrah Maidan–Salt Lake Sector V) on August 22, with an interchange to the Blue Line at Esplanade, followed three days later by the Yellow Line. Both new corridors have sharply raised ridership, with the Blue Line bearing most of the load.

Metro carried 8,07,030 passengers on September 1, of whom 5,83,894 travelled on the Blue Line. The Green Line logged 2,04,302, while the Yellow Line (6,996), Orange Line (Kavi Subhash–Beleghata, 5,443) and Purple Line (Majherhat–Joka, 6,665) remained below the 10,000 mark.

Officials said the closure of Kavi Subhash has substantially increased rake reversal time, as empty trains must be brought to the terminal’s down platform and repositioned at Shahid Khudiram for operations. To maintain frequency, several Shahid Khudiram-bound services have been short-terminated at Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (Tollygunge) since August 25, worsening congestion. “While these steps are being taken for safety reasons, door-closing difficulties and heavy rush are creating a cascading effect across the system,” a Metro spokesperson admitted. Rush-hour chaos, and even crowding in non-peak hours, has become routine.

To break the chain, Metro has segregated Yellow Line services from the Blue. “Airport–Noapara services are now separate so that the Blue Line, the city’s lifeline, is insulated from the Yellow Line, much like the Blue and Green lines are already insulated from each other,” the spokesperson said. Earlier, Yellow Line trains arriving at Noapara continued towards Shahid Khudiram.

Now they terminate at a separate platform, requiring passengers to change platforms at Noapara.

Alongside segregation, Blue Line services have been reduced from 284 to 262 daily. Three rakes will also be stationed overnight at Mahanayak Uttam Kumar and another three at Noapara before the commencement of commercial services. Metro has further decided to reopen the Tollygunge carshed, which is expected to be ready before the start of the festival season.

Technical arrangements for these changes are being carried out during non-commercial weekend hours to avoid disruption to weekday morning services.