Kolkata Metro to Increase Number of Trains & Extends Its Service Hours as Covid Cases Decline. Details Here

Kolkata: Amid declining Coronavirus cases, the Kolkata Metro on Saturday said it will increase the number of trains along with extending its service hours. This came after the West Bengal government announced relaxation in night curfew which will be in place from 11 pm to 5 am, and not from 9 pm, starting August 16.

From August 16, the Kolkata metro will run 240 trains up and down, said an official communique. The last train will leave Subhash and Dumdum at 9 pm, while from Dakshineswar the last train can be boarded at 8:48 pm. According to current timings and restrictions, Kolkata Metro’s last train leaves at 8 PM.

With a steady increase in passenger count over the past few weeks, the Metro Railway has also decided to run trains at an interval of five minutes during peak hours from Monday to Friday. “Metro will now run 228 (114 Up and 114 Down) services from Monday to Friday instead of 220 so that the passengers can travel comfortably. Trains will run at an interval of five minutes during the morning and evening peak hours,” an official said.

Metro Railway has been witnessing a steady increase in footfall since it resumed operations, following the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions by the West Bengal government. It crossed the two-lakh mark between Kavi Subhash and Dakshinswar on August 6, and recorded a passenger count of over 2.14 lakh on Monday, the spokesperson added.

Covid-19 cases in West Bengal

Meanwhile, the state’s COVID-19 tally rose to 15,37,185 as 739 more people tested positive for the infection, while eight fresh fatalities pushed its coronavirus death toll to 18,276, a health bulletin said on Friday. North 24 Parganas district recorded the highest number of new cases at 89, followed by 88 in Kolkata. North 24 Parganas also registered the highest number of fresh fatalities at four, followed by three in Kolkata.

The state now has 10,109 active cases, while 749 more people were cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 15,08,800, the bulletin said, adding that the recovery rate has improved to 98.15 per cent.