Kolkata Metro to run extra trains from October 13

Kolkata: Kolkata Metro will be operating additional rakes right from Chaturthi, October 13, to cater to the Puja crowd which is expected to go on pandal hopping from that very day.

There will be 284 rakes running on October 13 from 8 am to 11.10 pm. Around 250 rakes will be operating on October 14 (Panchami) from 8 am till 11.10 pm. On Sasthi, October 15, there will be 300 trains that will run from 8 am to 11.10 pm.

"On the three days- Saptami (Oct 16), Asthami (Oct 17), Nabami (Oct 18) services will be available from 1.40 pm in the afternoon till 4 am. As many as 224 rakes will be operate on these three days," a spokesperson of Kolkata Metro said.

On October 19, Dashami services will be available from 1.40 pm till 10 pm and there will be 118 rakes operating.

However, the four new rakes that have arrived from the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai will not be in operation during Durga Puja as the trial run with these rakes has not been completed yet. The old fleet of 17 rakes that have been operating since the inception of Metro in 1984 will be in service during the Pujas.

"We are taking all possible measures for having a smooth run of the rakes. There will be 250 employees working in shifts during the Puja. There will be maintenance staff at every station," a senior official said. Medical teams will be in place at Sovabazar, MG Road, Kalighat and two other stations. Oxygen cylinders and masks will be in place at every station. There will be foolproof security arrangements with as many as 560 CCTVs, metal detectors, commando force on every train. Two camps for commandos will be set up at Dum Dum and Kalighat station while quick response teams (QRT) will be in place at Dum Dum, Central, Kalighat and Kavi Subhas station.