E-W Metro’s Hwh Maidan link adds 61,000 daily riders to N-S corridor
Times of India | 16 April 2024
Kolkata: In the first month, East-West Metro’s Esplanade-Howrah Maidan segment carried over 12 lakh passengers and earned almost Rs 1.8 crore. It has also led to the addition of nearly 61,000 daily riders on the North-South line, taking its earnings between March 15 and April 14 to Rs 23.1 crore, a statement issued by Metro Railway said on Monday.
The passenger count on the Esplanade-Howrah Maidan section is for 25 days as the trains on this line do not operate on Sunday.In the first two weeks, 7.5 lakh people had taken the ride in this section.
“The novelty factor is gradually ebbing, and only serious commuters are using the Metro service that links Kolkata with Howrah below the river Hooghly,” a Metro official said.
Among the three new lines introduced on March 15, the most hyped was the East-West Metro’s Esplanade-Howrah Maidan stretch, which has an interface with the North-South line at Esplanade. The North-South line has an interface with the New Garia-Ruby section of the New Garia-Airport (Orange) corridor at the New Garia station. The third new Metro was a 1.2km Taratala-Majerhat stretch added to the 6.5km Joka-Taratala line of the Joka-Esplanade corridor.
Kausik Mitra, CPRO, Metro Railway, said, “Before March 15, the North-South line would register around 5.5 lakh passengers every day. After the new Metro lines were added, the corridor is getting around 6.1 lakh daily footfall.”
The Orange line has carried 24,205 people and earned Rs 5.5 lakh in the last month.
Metro officials were reluctant to disclose the dismal figures of the Purple line, which now runs at 50-minute intervals between Joka and Majerhat, and registers less than 800 daily passengers. Both Orange and Purple lines are unavailable on weekends. On the other hand, East-West Metro’s Sector V-Sealdah section registers around 45,000 daily footfall.
“After the new lines were opened, commuters found it convenient to switch corridors at Esplanade and New Garia with a single ticket. People from Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas, and other suburban areas have used the new Metro lines to save time,” an official said.