Travelling woes of city commuters is likely to come to an end soon. The Kolkata Metro Railway is eyeing to inaugurate stretches of five major Metro corridors by the end of this year.

After the recently opened Joka-Taratala Metro in the first week of this month, the city Metro is expected to inaugurate another corridor between New Garia and Ruby this month.

Advertisement

The crucial Metro corridor from Kavi Subhash to Hemanta Mukherjee of New Garia to Airport via Rajarhat Metro project has been inspected by commissioner of railway safety, NF circle.

The mandatory approval to start the commercial services on this stretch is expected to be received this week. After getting the safety nod, commercial services on this 5.4-km long stretch are likely to start in February, informed general manager of Kolkata Metro Railway Arun Arora.

After the inauguration of Kavi Subhash to Hemanta Mukherjee, the authorities are targeting to open three more lines in the month of October.

With an increased allocation of 242.86 per cent and funds of Rs 1,200 crore, the New Garia to Airport via Rajarhat Metro Project is expected to get a boost this year with the inauguration of 9.82 km from Ruby to Salt Lake.

The Metro authorities are putting efforts to open the additional stretch for commercial services in the month of October.

The 7.04-km stretch of Noapara to Bimanbandar of Noapara-BimanbandarBarasat Metro project is another corridor which is expected to see light this year.

The zonal railway is eyeing for the inauguration of this stretch also in the month of October. The third stretch of Metro which is expected to see an addition of commercial operations is Taratala- Majerhat which is also being readied for final commissioning in the month of October. “These extensions and opening of new routes will be this year’s Puja Gift to the people of Kolkata,” said the general manager.

The major draw among the opening of various corridors, however, is expected to be the inauguration of the underwater stretch of the EastWest Metro. According to the CPRO of Kolkata Metro Railway, Kausik Mitra, the target has also been fixed to extend much awaited Metro services from Sealdah to Howrah Maidan by December.