Metro commuters in the southern fringes of the city are soon to enjoy a better commute. The Kolkata Metro Railway has decided to double the number of services in the Purple Line running from Joka to Taratala. The increased number of services will start from 1 May.
According to the city Metro railway from that day, instead of 12, a total of 24 daily services would be operated between Joka and Taratala, Monday to Friday. The Metro services, however, would continue to be operated on a ‘onetrain-only system.’ With the addition of services, the city Metro has also announced a change in the timings of services.
As communicated by the Kolkata Metro Railway office, the first Metro from Joka that is presently starting at 10 am would start its run at 8.55 am. As a result, the timing of the first Metro from Taratala also would be at 9.20 am instead of 10.30 am.
The major relief for commuters would, however, be that the gap in services from noon to 3.30 pm from Joka and opposite direction of Taratala would be lifted from the first day of the next month.
According to the Kolkata Metro Railway, services would be operated from as early as 8.55 am. As the timing of the first service has been brought forward, the last service is also to be run earlier at 4.20 pm from Joka and 4.40pm from Taratala.
The decision, as revealed by the general manager of Kolkata Metro Railway, P Uday Kumar Reddy, has been taken after studying the footfall pattern as well as conducting a detailed survey.