Kolkata Metro will run late-night services during Durga Puja, with trains operating until 4am from Saptami to Navami on the Blue and Green lines. The extended schedule will cover four days this year because Saptami will be observed on both October 17 and 18.
Metro Railway announced the festival timetable on Thursday, setting out revised operating hours and train frequencies for the Puja period. The plan covers Panchami, Sashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami, when Kolkata’s streets, shopping areas and pandal routes typically see sustained passenger movement.
On the Blue Line, Metro Railway will operate 284 services each day on Panchami and Sashthi, October 15 and 16, between 6am and 11pm. Trains will run at a peak-hour frequency of six minutes. From Saptami to Navami, October 17 to 20, the line will operate 248 services daily from 1pm until 4am the following day, also with a six-minute peak-hour frequency.
The Blue Line will run 140 services on Dashami, October 21, between 1pm and 10.30pm. The peak-hour interval on that day will be eight minutes.
The Green Line will operate 240 services each day on Panchami and Sashthi, from 6am to 11pm, with trains scheduled at six-minute intervals during peak hours. From Saptami to Navami, it will run 192 services from 1.30pm until 3.59am the next day, with an eight-minute peak-hour frequency. On Dashami, the line will have 74 services from 1.30pm to 10.30pm, with a 15-minute interval between trains.
The announcement also lists revised services on other Metro corridors. One set of services will operate 120 trains each day on Panchami and Sashthi, between 7.18am and 9.20pm, with a peak-hour frequency of 12 minutes. From Saptami to Navami, the schedule provides 72 services from 3pm to 10.53pm at 12-minute intervals. On Dashami, 62 trains will operate from 3pm to 9.38pm, also at a 12-minute frequency.
Another corridor will run 84 services on Panchami and Sashthi from 6.40am to 9.26pm, with a peak-hour frequency of 21 minutes. From Saptami to Dashami, it will operate 38 services daily from 3pm to 10.55pm, with trains 25 minutes apart. The timetable also provides 62 services from 7.40am to 8.45pm on Panchami and Sashthi at a 25-minute frequency.
The Orange Line will remain closed to commercial services from Saptami to Dashami. The announcement did not provide a separate operating timetable for that corridor during the four-day period.
The extended Blue and Green line services are intended to provide late-night public transport during the busiest Puja days. Metro Railway’s announced schedule will determine the availability of rail connections for passengers travelling after regular evening operating hours, with the final late-night services on the two main corridors scheduled to run into the early hours of the following day.
