4.5L switched E-W, NS lines in 1st 2 weeks, 3.7L in next 6
Times of India | 31 May 2024
Kolkata: In the first two months of East-West Metro’s Howrah Maidan-Esplanade run, more than 8.2 lakh passengers used the Esplanade interchange to switch between the North-South Blue Line and East-West Green line, Metro Railway revealed on Thursday.
Commercial services on East-West Metro’s 4.8km Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch, which links Kolkata with Howrah via the Hooghly, were flagged off on March 15.The first twoweeks between March 15 and March 30 saw 4.5 lakh passengers using the interchange, after which the commuter figure came down to 3.7 lakh in the next six weeks.
The figures reflect a sharp decline in commuters after the initial enthusiasm that saw many taking multiple joyrides on the country’s first under-river metro. While the numbers have declined, officials believe the count will be steady as those using the metro now are daily commuters. The overall count is expected to increase once the Sealdah-Esplanade section of the line becomes operational towards the end of this year.
East-West Metro currently covers two disjointed sections—a 9.4km stretch from Sector V to Sealdah and a 4.8km stretch from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade. The new section passes through Howrah railway station, enabling suburban commuters on Eastern Railway and South-Eastern Railway to travel to any part of Kolkata. “Among the 8.2lakh passengers, more than 4.6 lakh travelled from Howrah Metro station to different stations of Blue Line and more than 3.2 lakh passengers did the same from Howrah Maidan Metro station. Around 4 lakh terminated their journey at Esplanade,” Metro Railway said.
The station-wise break-up goes like this: More than 46,000 passengers travelled to Dum Dum and around 39,000 passengers to Kalighat from the four Green Line 2 stations between March 15 to May 15. More than 26,000 passengers travelled to New Garia (Kavi Subhash) from Howrah Maidan, Howrah and Mahakaran Metro stations. More than 13,000 passengers travelled to Dakshineswar and around 36,000 to Rabindra Sadan from the four new Green line stations.