Kolkata Metro: Blue Line plans to run all night for Durga Puja; Green Line extended beyond midnight
Times of India | 9 September 2025
KOLKATA: Despite ongoing challenges, Kolkata Metro plans to run night-long Blue (North-South) Line services on key Durga Puja days, officials said.
Plans are also underway to extend Green (East-West) Line services beyond midnight, until at least 2 am.
Except for the Covid years, Metro Railway operated Blue Line services until 4 am during the Puja, with specific schedules for each day.
With Durga Puja barely 20 days away, the Metro is expected to finalise its schedule for the special festive services, including extended timings to manage the rush. On regular days, operations begin around 6.50 am and continue until 9.30 pm.
The closure of the Kavi Subhash terminal station since 28 July, combined with overcrowding caused by the last 2.6 km extension of the East-West Metro and the introduction of the Noapara-Airport (Yellow Line) corridor on 25 August, has disrupted Blue Line timetables.
The Blue Line interchanges with both the Green and Yellow lines.
Amid these changes, there were concerns over night-long Durga Puja services on the Blue Line this year. Officials confirmed that the Saptami-Ashtami-Navami night-long services on the Shahid Khudiram–Dakshineswar corridor would continue without compromise.
“We will follow the same schedule on the Blue Line as in previous years. We are also trying to extend Green Line services beyond midnight, since the entire line — from Sector V to Howrah Maidan — is operational for the first time during the festive season,” an official said.
Last year, when the Green Line ran in two disjointed sections, Green Line 1 (Sector V–Sealdah) operated until midnight, while Green Line 2 (Esplanade–Howrah Maidan) ran until 1.45 am on the three key Puja days.
Additional staff, booking counters, and emergency services were deployed to manage the surge of pandal-hoppers.