Curious case of the ‘missing’ East-West Metro passengers
Times of India | 19 March 2024
Kolkata: A curious case of passenger mismatch has emerged underground with Metro Railway officials noticing a significant disparity in the number of people buying tickets to ride in the East-West Metro and the actual riders on its trains. That is because thousands entering through Howrah Maidan for joyrides are buying single journey tickets but taking multiple rides without disembarking from the train.
Officials said even if the registered ridership on Day One was 70,204, the actual number of rides could have been well past a lakh. “On Saturday, an ideal weekend for joyrides on India’s first under-river Metro, the actual passenger count must have been around 80,000 and not 67,240,” mused an official.
A train on the Esplanade-Howrah Maidan line takes the same tunnel (either the Sector V-bound or the Howrah-bound) on returning from Esplanade to Howrah Maidan because there is no crossover for switching tracks at Esplanade. “The passengers from Howrah Maidan or Howrah Metro station continue to sit in the train after it reaches Esplanade and halts for a few minutes. Then they return to Howrah Maidan or Howrah, viewing the blue LED-lid under-river stretch for the second time. All on a single ticket,” the official said.
If Metro Railway general manager P Uday Kumar Reddy was aware of the “missing” ridership, he chose not to say anything about it. “It’s such a momentous occasion for Metro Railway - having opened East-West Metro’s most significant section despite the multiple setbacks. We are happy to provide a meaningful Metro line, connected to two interfaces,” he said.
The ridership mismatch struck officials while noting down Friday’s passenger count at Esplanade: 12,384, compared to Howrah Maidan’s 23,444. The projected peak hourly passenger count, as per a survey by railway consultancy firm RITES for Howrah Maidan station is 4,666. For Esplanade, it is 38,000. The floor area of Metro stations dotting the 16km East-West corridor was deduced on the basis of this RITES study. Therefore, Howrah Maidan, with an 18,000sqm area, is the smallest of the four new Metro stations. Esplanade is the second largest, with an area of 30,000sqm.
A QR-coded paper ticket is meant for a single journey with no provision for return journey and the ticket is supposed to be scanned at the entry and exit gates on commencement and end of the journey. However, there is a 45-minute window for the buyer.