Kolkata Metro sees hike in number of passengers

Kolkata: Metro Railway has carried more number of passengers in the first three and half months of this financial year, against the corresponding period of the previous year.

A spokesperson of Kolkata Metro informed that during this period (i.e. from April 1 to mid July) 5.92 crore passengers have travelled by Metro, against 5.81 crore passengers last year. "The increase has been around 1.83 percent from last year," the spokesperson added.

The earnings were also raised to Rs 56.96 crore during the same period this year, compared to Rs. 55.17 crore last year, thereby registering an increase of 3.25 percent. At present, Metro Railway has 14 AC rakes and 13 non-AC rakes operating in the 27 km-long line from Noapara in the North to Kavi Subhash station in the South.

Four state-of-the-art AC rakes from Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Perambur have already reached the city and the Metro authorities hope to introduce them before the Pujas. The Metro is gradually working towards replacing its old rakes, which have been a cause of worry for the authorities as they are often developing technical snags. Kolkata Metro has ordered 14 rakes from M/s Dalian Locomotives Ltd. of China, among which the first rake is expected in August.