Puja special: Metro to run services on Saptami, Ashtami & Navami from 1 pm to 5 am

KOLKATA: For the convenience of revellers, Metro Railway will run 248 services in the North-South corridor on Saptami, Ashtami and Navami from 1 pm to 5 am. In the same corridor, it will run 132 services from 1 pm to 11 pm on Dashami. On Panchami and Sasthi days, metro services will be plied from 8 am till midnight in the North-South corridor. In addition, 234 services will run from 6:50 am to 10:35 pm on Ekadashi (September 6) to Trayodashi (September 8) in the same corridor.

For the passengers of the East-West corridor, Metro will run 72 services on Saptami, Ashtami and Navami from 11.55 am till midnight. However, on usual days Metro runs about 100 services in this corridor daily. On Dashami, about 48 services will be plied from 11:55 am to 8 pm in the East-West corridor.

The announcement was made on Friday after General Manager, Arun Arora, held a meeting. Arora appealed to commuters to switch over to metro recharge cards as it would save time during crowded situations. Tokens will also be available. He advised the commuters to avoid running on the platforms. "If more services are required, we will add,"Arora said.

On the security front, Arora said that vulnerable locations like Kalighat, Dum Dum and Shobhabazar, amongst others have been identified and in these places the presence of Railway Protection Force (RPF) will be strengthened in coordination with state police.

Meanwhile, Metro Railway will run special midnight services for the convenience of the cricket lovers after the T-20 cricket matches, which will be played at Eden Gardens on Friday and Saturday.

On these two days, one pair of additional services will run from Esplanade station towards Dakshineswar and Kavi Subhash after the matches.

The booking counters will remain open at Esplanade station, for the sale of smart cards and tokens. The special train will stop at all stations.