Kolkata, Sep 7 (PTI) Nearly 50 lakh people travelled on different routes of Kolkata Metro in the first week of September, making it the most preferred and affordable travel option in the city, a Metro official said on Sunday.
One of the contributing factors behind the spike in ridership is the pre-Durga Puja shopping rush, as many people turn to Metro for fast, reliable, and congestion-free travel to popular shopping hubs.
The Blue Line (Dakshineswar–Sahid Khudiram) continues to be the busiest corridor, carrying an average of 7.49 lakh passengers daily in the first six days of this month.
Meanwhile, the recently inaugurated Green Line (Howrah Maidan–Salt Lake Sector V) has quickly emerged as a strong alternative for cross-river commuters, thanks to its connectivity between the city’s two banks, divided by the Bhagirathi (Hooghly) river.
Three other stretches — Joka-Majerhat, New Garia-Beleghata and Noapara (Baranagar)-Jai Hind Biman Bandar — are also drawing crowds.
“Around 49/50 lakh commuters must have travelled in the Metro in the first week of September. More than 8.07 lakh passengers travelled on September 1 and 7.86 lakh passengers on September 4. On September 6, more than 7.13 lakh weekend passengers, mainly puja shoppers, used the Metro,” the spokesperson added.
More than 2 lakh passengers availed the Green Line (Howrah Maidan-Salt Lake Sector V) on September 1 and 4, the official said.
Last week of August saw a total of 49.18 lakh passengers availing the Metro.
In addition to rising passenger numbers, Metro Railway has reported a noticeable increase in digital ticketing.
Over 1.82 lakh mobile QR code tickets were sold in the first week of September.
The Blue Line accounted for more than 94,000 of these, while the Green Line saw over 85,000 QR-based tickets being issued.
The highest single-day sale of mobile QR tickets was recorded on September 6, when 34,559 commuters opted for this contactless ticketing method. PTI SUS MNB
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