North-South Metro records nearly 8 lakh ridership on Panchami

Kolkata: Metro Railway records a steady rise in the number of passengers opting to travel via North-South Metro which connects Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash. On Panchami (October 19), they recorded 7,92,060 footfall compared to 7,49,160 passenger count recorded on Chaturthi (October 18).

A total of 288 Metro services are being plied in the mentioned Metro corridor. Since many of the popular Durga Puja pandals and restaurant hubs like Park Street are closer to Metro stations, people are choosing to travel via this line. The maximum passenger count of 80,362 was recorded at Dum Dum Metro Station on October 19, which was followed by 63,189 passenger count recorded at Esplanade Metro Station, Kalighat station recorded 63,047 passenger count and Shovabazar-Sutanuti recorded 50,301 passenger count. Metro Railway will be running night long service on Saptami, Ashtami and Navami in North-South Corridor, while services will be available till midnight in East-West Corridor.

Additional staff will be deployed at various stations and additional counters will be opened at Dakshineswar, Dum Dum, Sovabazar-Sutanuti, Kalighat, Rabindra Sarobar and Gitanjali Metro Stations. In the East-West Metro Corridor which as of now connects Sealdah with Salt Lake Sector V will have services till midnight during the mentioned duration.

Aiming to provide better services to the passengers, additional RPF and other staff will be deployed at Dakshineswar, Dum Dum, Belgachia, Shyambazar, Sovabazar-Sutanuti, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Central, Jatin Das Park, Kalighat, Rabindra Sarobar, Kavi Nazrul, Kavi Subhash, Sealdah and Bengal Chemical Metro Stations.

Preventive measures are being taken to ensure security of passengers. Five-member Quick Response Teams (QRT) and Disaster Management Teams will be deployed at different stations and trains to tackle any emergency situations.