With Kali Puja just a day away, Kolkata Metro and Eastern Railway have announced additional services to accommodate the increased number of passengers during the festivities. This year, Kali Puja falls on Thursday, October 31, and Kolkata residents are gearing up for an evening of pandal hopping and celebration. Aware of the high demand, metro and railway authorities are introducing extra metro rides and EMU special trains for late-night travelers.
Extended Metro Services for Kali Puja
On Thursday, October 31, the regular daytime metro services will be reduced from the usual 292 trains to 198. However, special metro rides have been scheduled during the night for better commuter support on Kali Puja. The first trains will depart from both Kavi Subhash and Dakshineswar at their regular times. Starting from 9:40 PM, metro trains will run every 20 minutes until 11:00 PM in both directions. The schedule is as follows:
- Kavi Subhash to Dakshineswar: 10:00 PM, 10:20 PM, 10:40 PM, and 11:00 PM
- Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash: 9:48 PM, 10:08 PM, 10:28 PM, and 10:48 PM
The Sealdah-Salt Lake metro services will operate without changes.
Special EMU Trains by Eastern Railway for Kali Puja and Diwali
Eastern Railway has announced extra EMU services to ease passenger load on October 31 (Kali Puja) and November 1 (Diwali). Here’s the EMU special train schedule:
- Sealdah-Dankuni-Sealdah EMU Special: Departs Sealdah at 11:30 PM, arrives at Dankuni at 12:15 AM. The return departs Dankuni at 12:25 AM, reaching Sealdah by 1:05 AM.
- Sealdah-Barasat-Sealdah EMU Special: Leaves Sealdah at 12:10 AM, reaches Barasat at 12:55 AM. The return trip departs Barasat at 1:10 AM and arrives at Sealdah at 1:55 AM.
- Sealdah-Ranaghat-Sealdah EMU Special: Leaves Sealdah at 12:40 AM, reaches Ranaghat at 2:30 AM. Departs Ranaghat at 11:45 PM and returns to Sealdah at 1:40 AM.
- Sealdah-Baruipur-Sealdah EMU Special: Leaves Sealdah at 12:30 AM, reaches Baruipur at 1:15 AM. Departs Baruipur at 1:25 AM and returns to Sealdah at 2:10 AM.
With this expanded schedule, Kolkata residents can enjoy their Kali Puja and Diwali celebrations with the convenience of extra transit options. The extended services will also help maintain crowd control and ensure a smoother travel experience during this festive period.