Kausik Mitra, CPRO, Metro Railway, stated, "For now, we will operate the last trains at 11 pm every day from Monday to Friday. If successful, the services will become permanent, except on Saturdays and Sundays." Ticket counters will be opened at every 23 stations between Kavi Subhas and Dum Dum for issuing tokens, smart cards, and other tickets. However, the last three North-South stations?Noapara, Baranagar, and Dakshineswar?have been excluded from the trial.

This move follows a directive from the Calcutta High Court urging Metro Railway to consider extending its operations by 45 minutes in response to a PIL. The petitioner's lawyer highlighted that the last train currently departs from Dum Dum and New Garia at 9:40 pm, while in most other cities in the country, the last metro leaves the originating station around 11 pm. Metro Railway has been given four weeks to respond to the PIL.

Ajay Mittal, who initiated an online petition last year advocating for the extension of Metro timings, expressed satisfaction with the decision, stating, "It feels great to be part of a change that will benefit scores of Kolkata commuters." However, some commuters suggested that Metro should operate at least three services within the extended timeframe to reduce waiting periods.

Metro Railway, which previously operated 300 services on the N-S corridor, reduced its operations to 284 due to fleet and staff shortages in 2019. After the pandemic, four services were added. Metro Railway aims to address motorman shortages and extend services into late hours once the communication-based train control system is implemented within the next five years. Under this system, motormen will only need to press a button to close doors and start the train, potentially improving operational efficiency.

(Source: ET)