Kolkata: India’s first underwater metro welcomes over 1 Lakh passengers in two days

Mangalore Today News Network/News18

Kolkata, Mar 18, 2024: In just two days since its launch, the new Metro route from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade has seen an impressive 1,35,000 footfalls.

The first day alone saw over 70,000 commuters using this stretch.

 

This Metro route is a part of the East-West Metro Corridor, connecting Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector-V. While the Sealdah to Salt Lake Sector V section was operational before, the Howrah Maidan to Esplanade stretch began its commercial run on March 15. The Esplanade to Sealdah section is still under construction and will open soon, as reported by Millenium Post.

This new connectivity has significantly reduced travel time from around 45 minutes to just 10 minutes between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade. It’s not only popular among daily commuters but also for those transferring to the Blue Line at Esplanade, which connects Kavi Subhash to Dakshineswar.

On the first day, footfall figures were impressive, with 70,204 commuters using the stretch. The highest footfall was at Howrah Maidan Metro station with 23,444, followed by 20,923 at Howrah Metro station. Mahakaran and Esplanade Metro stations saw 13,453 and 12,384 footfalls respectively.

Apart from regular commuters, many people also chose to ride the Metro to witness the historic moment and admire the engineering marvel of traveling under the Hooghly river. Even on Saturday, energy levels remained high, with over 65,000 footfalls recorded.

The Metro service will operate 130 services (65 from Howrah Maidan and 65 from Esplanade) from Monday to Saturday. These services will run alternately on East and West-bound lines at intervals of 12 to 15 minutes, starting from 7 am till 9:45 pm. The project cost for this stretch amounted to Rs 4,965 crore.