Over a million passengers have used Kolkata’s first underwater metro in only two days

The new Metro line from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade has recorded an astonishing 1,35,000 feet of traffic in only two days of operation.

More than 70,000 commuters used this section on the first day alone.

This metro line connects Salt Lake Sector-V with Howrah Maidan as part of the East-West Metro Corridor. The Howrah Maidan to Esplanade segment started its commercial service on March 15, while the Sealdah to Salt Lake Sector V portion was already running. According to the Millenium Post, work is still ongoing on the Esplanade to Sealdah portion, which is scheduled to open in the near future.

The time it took to go from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade, which was formerly 45 minutes, is now just 10 minutes because of this improved connection. It is well-liked by both everyday commuters and those making the transfer to the Blue Line at Esplanade, which links Dakshineswar and Kavi Subhash.

Impressive foot traffic numbers were recorded on the first day, with 70,204 commuters using the stretch. Howrah Maidan Metro station had the most foot traffic, with 23,444, followed by Howrah Metro station with 20,923. 13,453 and 12,384 people visited the Mahakaran and Esplanade Metro stations, respectively.

In addition to typical commuters, a large number of people decided to use the Metro in order to experience the historic occasion and marvel at the technical feat of passing under the Hooghly River. Over 65,000 footfalls on Saturday attested to the strong energy levels that persisted throughout the day.

From Monday through Saturday, 130 services (65 from Howrah Maidan and 65 from Esplanade) will be offered by the Metro service. From 7 a.m. to 9:45 p.m., these services will operate alternately on East and West-bound lines at intervals of 12 to 15 minutes. For this portion of the project, the total cost was Rs 4,965 crore.