With 3 new lines, Kol metro becomes a 74-km network
Times of India | 23 August 2025
Kolkata: From "hell rail", as Satyajit Ray once dubbed it unable to bear the prolonged construction pain of the country's first underground transportation system (3.4 km Esplanade-Bhowanipur), Kolkata Metro has now grown to a 74-km network. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated three key links adding 14 km to the grid.
Last year, the PM had launched 10 km of metro lines, including India's first under-river stretch of the East-West Metro. However, the hype around the hi-tech East-West Metro or Green Line seemed lost on a large section of commuters, who were waiting impatiently for the last 2.6 km Esplanade-Sealdah leg, which was completed six years behind schedule. On Friday, ecstatic passengers rode the entire 16.6 km from Sector V to Howrah Maidan via the Hooghly in 32 minutes for just Rs 30.
The other major addition was metro's first airport link spanning 7 km from Noapara to Jai Hind (airport) station on Yellow Line. The PM's inauguration programme took place at Yellow Line's Jessore Road station, from where he travelled by the inaugural train to Jai Hind airport station and back. | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in Kolkata"Today once again I got the opportunity to accelerate development in Bengal... Everyone is happy that Kolkata's public transport has progressed... I congratulate the people of Kolkata for these development projects," the PM said.
He also flagged off the Orange Line's Phase II (4.4km Ruby-Beleghata stretch). Another 4 km is also ready to be added to the line's Beleghata-Sector V segment, once Kolkata Police allows bridging of a 366-metre viaduct at Chingrighata. In the next two years, the Orange Line may complete its entire 29-km run to the airport's Jai Hind station.
The Yellow Line is expected to add another 2.5 km to Michael Nagar from the airport in the next three years. Eventually, the Yellow Line will cover around 22 km to Barasat. The Purple Line or the Joka-Esplanade corridor, is also expected to extend from its current 8 km to 13.6 km till Esplanade in the next three years.
As Kolkata Metro GM P Uday Kumar Reddy said, "Kolkata Metro will cover more than 130 km by 2027.