Metro sees profits in first 6 months of FY

Kolkata: Kolkata Metro Railway's passenger count and earnings have increased significantly in the first six months of this financial year compared to the corresponding period in 2017-18, an official said on Friday.

"From April 1, 2019, to September 30, 2019, Metro Railway's passenger count has been 10.77 crore in comparison to 10. 65 crore during the same period of the previous year," said Kolkata Metro Railway chief public relations officer Indrani Banerjee.

Metro Railway's earnings have also increased during this period. Earnings of the city Metro, which has the lowest fare structure among all Metro railways in the country, have also gone up in these six months from Rs 101.66 crore last year to Rs 102.61 crore this year, which is an increase of Rs 0.95 crore, Banerjee said.

Kolkata Metro Railway created history by having 9.28 lakh commuters on Panchami this year, the highest since its inception in 1984. An old escalator will be replaced at Esplanade Station. The dismantling work of the old escalator (from mezzanine to surface gate) will start after 10 pm on October 11, 2019. Due to the dismantling work, the Grand Hotel gate at Esplanade Station will be temporarily closed till commissioning of the new escalator.