• Joka-Taratala Metro starts journey, riders have posers
    Times of India | 3 January 2023
  • KOLKATA: When the Joka-Taratala Metro began commercial operations on Monday, the enthusiasm among residents was obvious.

    There were long queues outside Joka station, way before the shutters were rolled up at 9.45am. Before motorman Dipak Bandopadhyay steered the first service at 10am, the station premises were buzzing. Station master Jitendra Prasad, who opted for a transfer from East-West Metro's City Centre station, said, "This is a historic day for the people living in this part of the city."

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, on Friday, virtually flagged off the 6.5km truncated section between Joka and Taratala - a part of the 14km Joka-Esplanade corridor. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who had laid the foundation of the Metro more than a decade ago as the serving railway minister, had said on Friday, "My dream project is taking off at last. We shouldn't forget the sacrifice of the local people of Behala who had to suffer much during the prolonged construction period."

    On the first day, the new Metro line had 5,003 passengers. Metro Railway distributed roses among the first 100.

    Among those who queued up since early morning to board the first Joka Metro were Bipashyee Ghosh, a Thakurpukur resident and lecturer at University College of London (UCL), and her father Buddhadeb, a retired railway employee. "I have grown up with the Metro construction. So, when I heard it is finally going to be opened to the public, I didn't want to miss the opportunity of riding on the first train," said Ghosh, who has come down to Kolkata for a vacation.

    Ghosh's father said, "I know Metro is taking baby steps, with just 12 services a day, but in due course, it will operate like the North-South line once the signalling system is installed and the 14km stretch till Esplanade is done."

    The father-daughter duo got off to buy tokens to board the same train back at Taratala at 10.14am. It restarted at 10.30am. Since it is a one-train-only system, there is an hour's gap between services.

    Among the first 306 passengers was Sukanta Roy, a defence worker, who was disappointed to learn the train would run at hourly intervals. "I had to walk quite a bit to come to Joka station. I was thinking Metro would make it easier for me to get to office in New Alipore, but it's impossible when there's an hour between trains," he said.

    Most, however, were elated. "So what if the Metro is hourly and doesn't run on weekends? It's a good start," said Saroj Mondal who came from Sankharipara village to be a part of the historic ride.
  • Link to this news (Times of India)