Kolkata Metro to run night-long special services to tackle Puja rush

Kolkata: In a bid to cater to the heavy rush of passengers during Durga Puja, Kolkata Metro Railway will run special night-long services for the pandal-hoppers. Security will be beefed up to ensure the safety of passengers.

From Saptami to Navami (October 5 to 7), Kolkata Metro will run 224 trains between Dum Dum and Kavi Subhash from 1:00 pm to 4:00 am. While on October 2, 3 and 4 (Chaturthi, Panchami and Sasthi), a total of 284 trains would be run between Kavi Subhash and Dum Dum, 132 trains would run between the two stations on October 8. From October 9 to 12 (Ekadashi to Chaturdashi), Metro services will start at 6.45 am and continue till 11.55 pm. On October 13 (Laxmi Puja), normal services will resume. This apart, Kolkata Metro Railway has also decided to run special pre-Puja services on Saturdays and Sundays.

On August 31, Metro services started at 6:45 am and continued till 11.55 pm. The timing will be the same on every Saturday of September. Meanwhile, on every Sunday of September, Metro services will start at 9 am and continue till 11.55 pm. At present, 236 trains run on Saturdays, while 124 trains run on Sundays. There are 284 services including Up and Down trains between Dum Dum and Kavi Subhash stations. The number of services between Dum Dum and Noapara has been increased to 107 from 104. Meanwhile, a massive cleanliness drive with special focus on cleanliness of drains and toilets has been organised at Masterda Surya Sen, Mahanayak Uttam Kumar, Jatin Das Park, Netaji Bhavan, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Central, Girish Park and Shyambazar stations.

Park Street has been made a 'Zero Waste' station, while biodegradable and non-biodegradable dustbins have been installed at all stations.