Kolkata Metro

Kolkata Metro
East-west metro tunnel under Hooghly River
East-west metro tunnel under Hooghly River
Overview
OwnerIndian Railways
Area servedKolkata Metropolitan Area
LocaleKolkata, West Bengal,  India
Transit typeRapid Transit
Number of lines
  • 6
  • ___
  • 1 fully operational
  • 3 partly operational
  • 1 under construction
  • 1 planned
Line number
Number of stations50 (Operational)
29 (Under Construction)
20 (Planned)
Daily ridership527,407 (0.527 million, 2023-24)
Annual ridership192,523,000 (192.5 million, 2023-24)
Chief executive
  • P. Uday Kumar Reddy, GM (Metro Railway)
  • Anuj Mittal, MD (KMRC)
Headquarters
Website
Operation
Began operationOctober 24, 1984; 40 years ago (1984-10-24)
Operator(s)
  1. Metro Railway, Kolkata
  2. Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation
Infrastructure manager(s)Indian Railways
Number of vehiclesAround 45
Train length6 and 8 Coaches
Headway
Technical
System length59.38 km (36.90 mi)
Track gauge
  • 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Broad-gauge (Blue, Purple & Orange Lines)
  • 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) Standard-gauge (Green Line)
Electrification750 V DC third rail
Average speed60 km/h (37.28 mph)
Top speed100 km/h (62 mph)

The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the Kolkata Metropolitan Region in West Bengal, India. Opened in 1984, it was the first operational rapid transit system in India. As of October 2024, it has four operational lines: the 32.13 km (19.96 mi) long Line 1 (Blue Line) from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash, 14.1 km (8.8 mi) long Line 2 (Green Line) from Salt Lake Sector V to Howrah Maidan (excluding the under construction section between Sealdah and Esplanade), 7.75 km (4.82 mi) long Line 3 (Purple Line) from Joka to Majerhat and 5.4 km (3.4 mi) long Line 6 (Orange Line) from Kavi Subhash to Hemanta Mukhopadhyay for a total of 59.38 km (36.90 mi).[3][4] Two other lines named Line 4 (Yellow Line) and Line 5 (Pink Line) are in various phases of construction and planning. The system has a mix of underground, at-grade, and elevated stations using both broad-gauge and standard-gauge tracks. It operates on a 750 V DC Third rail system. Trains operate between 06:50 and 22:40 IST and the fares range from ₹5 to ₹50.

The Kolkata Metro was initially planned in the 1920s, but construction started in the 1970s. The first underground stretch, from Bhawanipore (now Netaji Bhawan) to Esplanade, opened in 1984. A truncated section of Line 2, or the East–West Corridor, from Salt Lake Sector V to Phoolbagan opened in 2020. Line 3, or the Joka-Esplanade Corridor (currently truncated in Majerhat), opened in 2022 while Line 6, from Kavi Subhash to Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, opened in 2024. It is the second busiest metro network in India after the Delhi Metro and is the fifth-longest operational metro network in India after the Delhi Metro, Namma Metro, Hyderabad Metro, and Mumbai Metro.

Metro Railway, Kolkata and Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation are the owners and operator of the system. On 29 December 2010, Metro Railway, Kolkata, became the 17th zone of the Indian Railways, completely owned and funded by the Ministry of Railways. It is the only metro system in the country to be controlled by Indian Railways. Around 300 daily train trips carry more than 700,000 passengers.

  1. ^ "Metro Railway Kolkata / Indian Railways Portal". mtp.indianrailways.gov.in. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Registered Office". www.kmrc.in. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  3. ^ "KOLKATA METRO NETWORK EXPANDED BY 25.34 KM SINCE 2014, ANOTHER 13.27 KM LIKELY TO ADD IN 2023-2024". Kolkata Metro. 29 November 2023.
  4. ^ "PRIME MINISTER SHRI NARENDRA MODI INAUGURATED HOWRAH MAIDAN-ESPLANADE STRETCH OF EAST-WEST METRO AND OTHER METRO CORRIDORS TODAY". mtp.indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 6 March 2024.