Esplanade-Sealdah stretch: Commercial run may start today post 6 p.m.
The Statesman | 22 August 2025
With the clock ticking closer to the mega inauguration of 14km of Metro network, including three crucial lines, there is good news for the commuters. Commercial services in the Esplanade-Sealdah stretch of the Green Line could start after 6 p.m. tomorrow.
The commercial services in the Green Line between Howrah-Maidan and Sector V are likely to be operated after 6 p.m. tomorrow. On other working days, the services in this stretch would be operated between 6.30 a.m. and 10.19 pm. The commercial runs in this stretch are anticipated to bring relief to the office goers.
After the commencement of the commercial runs, services in the East-West Metro would be run at an interval of eight minutes during peak hours instead of the present 12 minutes. According to the city Metro office, with the addition of the 2.4km stretch between Esplanade and Sealdah, the Green Line from Howrah Maidan to Sector V will see the biggest benefit with services increasing to 186.
The other two lines that are also slated to see the green signal tomorrow would have revenue services from 25 August. However, the timings of the train operations would be different for the two lines. In the Kavi Subhash and Beleghata stretch of the Orange Line, revenue services would be operated between 8 a.m. and 8.20 p.m. while that in the Noapara and Jai Hind Biman Bandar Metro stations, the commercial runs would be operated from 7.58 a.m to 8.10 p.m. The Orange Line will now run 60 services while the Yellow Line will operate 120. With more trains running, waiting times will come down and overcrowding will ease.
Sticking to the present system, no commercial services would be operated on the Orange Line on Saturdays and Sundays. The same system would be followed for the upcoming stretch of the Yellow Line as well.