Orange & Purple lines: 3 Metro stns to become ‘no booking counter stations’ due to lack of passengers

Kolkata: Metro Railway has decided to turn three Metro stations of Orange and Purple lines as ‘no booking counter stations’ due to a dearth of passengers commuting using the said stations. This move by the Metro Railway is a pilot project which also aims to use digital methods to buy tickets and recharge smart cards.

According to Metro authorities, the average daily passenger count at Taratala Station is around 70 while Sakherbazar Metro Station is being used by about 55 passengers every day in the Orange line. In the purple line, about 220 passengers use Kavi Sukanta Metro Station, regularly. As the passenger count is very low, Metro authorities have decided to make these three stations as ‘no booking counter station’ from August 1. However, the passengers who are availing these metro stations for their journey can buy tokens, QR-based paper tickets and recharge smart cards using the Automatic Smart Card Recharge Machines (ASCRM) which will have already been installed in these Metro stations. The number of such machines may increase in future depending on the number of passengers.

According to a Metro official, after commencement of the new system, passenger responses will be monitored and feedback analysed in the coming days. After a period of six months, the situation will be reviewed and a further course of action will be decided.

The Metro services on Orange and Purple lines started during March this year. At present services are available between Kavi Subhas and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (Ruby) on Orange line and between Joka and Majerhat on the Purple line.