Kolkata Durga Puja metro services will run through the night on the Blue and Green lines during the main festival days, while the city’s railways will add special suburban and long-distance trains to manage the expected surge in passengers between October 15 and October 21. The arrangements cover pandal-hopping routes, airport connectivity, late-night travel and passenger safety across the Kolkata Metropolitan Region.
Metro Railway Kolkata’s main overnight operation will run during Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami and Maha Navami, from October 17 to October 20. The Blue Line and Green Line will operate from the afternoon into the early hours, with services continuing until around 4 am the following morning. The plan is intended to support travel between major puja areas in north and south Kolkata and across the east-west corridor.
On the Blue Line, services on October 15 and 16 will run from 6 am to 11 pm, with 284 trips and peak-hour frequency of six minutes. During the core festival days, trains will operate from 1 pm until 4 am, with services originating from stations including Gitanjali, Uttam Kumar, Dum Dum, Shyambazar and Noapara. On Vijaya Dashami, October 21, the line will run 140 services between 1 pm and 10.30 pm, with an eight-minute peak frequency.
The Green Line will operate 240 services between 6 am and 11 pm on October 15 and 16, with trains arriving every six minutes during peak hours. From October 17 to 20, 192 services will run from 1.30 pm until approximately 3.59 am, with an eight-minute peak frequency. Its Vijaya Dashami schedule will include 74 services between 1.30 pm and 10.30 pm, at 15-minute intervals.
The other metro corridors will operate on more limited schedules. The Yellow Line will run 120 services between Noapara and Jai Hind Bimanbandar on October 15 and 16, from 7.18 am to 9.20 pm. Five direct services will operate from Jai Hind Bimanbandar to Shahid Khudiram for airport passengers. From October 17 to 20, the line will run 72 daily services between 3 pm and 10.53 pm, followed by 62 services from 3 pm to 9.38 pm on Vijaya Dashami.
The Purple Line will operate 84 services daily between Joka and Majerhat on October 15 and 16, from 6.40 am to 9.26 pm. From October 17 to 21, it will run 38 services daily between 3 pm and 10.55 pm, at 25-minute intervals. The Orange Line will provide 62 services between Kavi Subhash and Beleghata on October 15 and 16, from 7.40 am to 8.45 pm, but no services are scheduled on the corridor from October 17 to 21.
Metro officials have advised passengers to avoid ticket-counter queues by using Smart Cards or digital QR-based mobile tickets through the AAMAR KOLKATA METRO app. An official also asked passengers not to rush, block train doors or overcrowd coaches, citing the expected density of festival crowds and high train frequency.
The railway plan extends beyond the metro network. The Sealdah division will operate 51 Puja special trains, compared with 31 last year. The plan includes 38 overnight services between 11 pm and 5 am from October 16 to 21, as well as 13 special EMU local trains across the Main, North and South sections.
The Howrah division has announced seven long-distance special trains accounting for 174 trips, seven special EMU services covering about 70 trips and 25 pairs of passing specials totalling 402 trips. The South Eastern Railway will run 19 pairs of Puja special trains with 344 trips and has added 30 coaches permanently to various regular services.
The Sealdah division will also require all galloping local trains to stop at every station after 2 pm during the Puja period. Eastern Railway’s long-distance additions include special services linking Howrah and Raxaul, Sealdah and Patna, Sealdah and Sitamarhi, Sealdah and Gorakhpur, Kolkata and Madhubani, Asansol and Patna, Asansol and Gorakhpur, and Malda Town and Digha. These services will operate on specified days between October 13 and November 29.
South Eastern Railway’s special services include trains connecting Shalimar with Chennai Beach, Delhi with Santragachi and Tatanagar with Buxar. The railway authorities are also planning special local shuttle services between Bandel and Naihati on peak Puja days, with selected services running beyond midnight. Synchronisation between EMU and metro schedules is being explored for late-night passengers.
Additional local services include four trains on the Sealdah-Ranaghat-Lalgola route from October 10 to 15. Post-Puja additions include a late-night Sealdah-Budge Budge service, a new AC local stop at Badkulla and increased frequency on the Shantipur-Krishnanagar section.
For crowd management and passenger safety, 75 local trains have been identified for enhanced security measures. Sealdah, Ballygunge, Dum Dum, Sonarpur, Naihati and Ranaghat stations will have round-the-clock control-room surveillance, medical booths, passenger help desks, mobile maintenance teams, reserve locomotive crews and additional toilet facilities during the festival period.
