Kolkata Metro records highest-ever daily ridership on Panchami

Kolkata: The Kolkata Metro Railway registered its highest-ever single-day ridership on Maha Panchami (September 27), carrying more than 9.82 lakh passengers and surpassing all previous records of the network’s daily passenger count.

Metro officials confirmed that the figure eclipsed the earlier record of 9.61 lakh passengers, set on Maha Sasthi last year (October 9, 2024). Until now, last year’s Maha Panchami count of 9.45 lakh had stood as the second-highest.

The overwhelming rush this year began days ahead of the main Puja festivities. Passenger counts touched 8.36 lakh on Dwitiya (September 24), rose to 9.33 lakh on Tritiya (September 25), and stood at 9.32 lakh on Chaturthi (September 26).

The bulk of Saturday’s (Panchami) crowd—over 7.43 lakh passengers—travelled on the Blue Line (North–South corridor), the city’s oldest stretch running between Dakshineswar and Shahid Khudiram. The Green Line, or the East–West corridor linking Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector V, carried another 2.21 lakh passengers. Metro authorities attributed the record-breaking turnout to commuters’ faith in the city’s rapid transit system as a safe, cost-effective and comfortable mode of travel.

To cope with the surge, the Metro operated 262 services on the Blue Line between 8 am and 11 pm on Panchami and 246 from 9 am to 11 pm the following day on Sasthi (Sunday). The Green Line ran 225 services between 7.30 am and 11.16 pm on Saturday and 184 between 9 am and 11.28 pm on Sunday. For the upcoming Puja days—Saptami (September 29), Ashtami (September 30) and Navami (October 1)—night-long services will be offered on both corridors: from 1 pm to 4 am on the Blue Line and 1.30 pm to 4.18 am on the Green Line.