Kolkata Metro: Quick facts

Kolkata Metro construction details

With the inauguration of the North-South Metro route from Noapara to Dakshineswar in 2021, the upcoming metro corridors are also expected to improve connectivity, particularly in the highly congested areas of the city. At present, there are four metro lines in Kolkata under different stages of construction.

Operational lines:

• Blue Line: Dakshineswar-Kavi Subhas metro
• Green Line: Salt Lake Sector 5 to Phool Bagan
• Purple Line: Taratala-Majerhat Metro section of Joka- Esplanade line (partially operational)

Under-construction lines:

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Most of the construction for Line 1 is based on the Cut and Cover construction method, a traditional tunnelling method.

Further, the East-West Metro corridor project will have an underwater tunnel and the section will be equipped with all the necessary facilities and safety measures. There will be tunnels for the evacuation of passengers in case of any emergency. As per an official, 80% of the construction work is complete.

The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRCL), a government enterprise established in 2008, is undertaking the construction of the East-West corridor project of the Kolkata Metro. In July 2019, it handed over the operations of the Metro Line 2 to Metro Railway, Kolkata, which is the owner and operator of the Kolkata Metro, along with KMRCL. The Metro Railway, Kolkata, will also operate other metro lines after the completion of the construction work. The inaugural train zoomed-off from the Kolkata Metro station at Sector V to traverse a 4.88-km distance to the Stadium

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Kolkata Metro route

In March 2022, the Kolkata Metro Railway officially assigned colour codes to the different metro corridors and the new extended metro lines under various phases of implementation.

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Kolkata Metro Line 1 (Blue Line)

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The Line 1 of Kolkata Metro is the North-South Metro line. It is now referred to as the Blue Line. The route comprises 26 stations with 15 underground stations, two stations on the surface and 9 elevated stations. It covers about 32 kilometres of distance from Kavi Subhas to Dakshineswar.

The oldest metro line that was started in the city on October 24, 1984, was a small section of 3.4 kilometres, connecting Esplanade to Bhowanipore (now Netaji Bhavan). More sections were later opened, such as Tollygunge metro station to New Garia station along an elevated route. In 2013, the line was extended in the north with a new section connecting Dum Dum station to Noapara. In February 2021, a four-km section from Noapara to Dakshineswar became operational.

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Kolkata Metro Line 2 (Green Line)

The Kolkata Metro Line 2 route includes a total of 17 stations with 11 elevated stations and six underground stations spanning a distance of 22 kms. On February 13, 2020, the first phase of the East West Metro corridor from Salt Lake Sector V to Salt Lake Stadium was inaugurated. The Phoolbagan Metro station was the first underground metro station in the East West Metro route to be opened.

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East west metro route: Kolkata Metro underwater tunnel

Prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the underwater metro, on the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of the East-West corridor, on March 6, 2024. The project has been developed at a cost of Rs 4,965 crore.

The 16.6-kilometre-long East-West Metro corridor includes 5.8 kms of the elevated route and 10.8 kms of an underground section. Of this 16.6-km stretch, 520 metres will be under the riverbed of the river Hooghly. The twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah will be connected by an underwater tunnel that will be developed 33 metres below the riverbed of the river Hooghly. The Green Line will finally connect Howrah with Teghoria.

Howrah station is the deepest metro station in India at 33 metres below the surface. Twin tunnels of 520-metre have been constructed 13 metres below the river bed, connecting Mahakaran (BBD Bag) on the eastern banks of Hooghly with Howrah station on the western banks.

The tunnel across the river has been developed in a record time of 66 days. It connects the Howrah Station complex on the western bank to the Armenian Ghat on the eastern bank. The tunnel is built 350 metre downstream of the Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu).

Kolkata Metro Line 3 (Purple Line)

The Line 3 of the Kolkata Metro is under construction. The route will start from Joka Metro station in the south and connect Esplanade in the north, covering a distance of around 15 kms. The project will be developed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) owned by the Indian Railways.

The initial phase of the Joka-Esplanade Metro line (Line 3), which has been facing severe delays in completion, will only operate between Joka and Taratala. The completion of the East-West Metro has been significantly delayed owing to three incidents during the past three years while tunnelling at Bowbazar in central Kolkata.

The metro stations on this route include Kidderpore, Victoria, Park Street and Esplanade.

Kolkata Metro Line 4 (Yellow Line)

The Line 4 or the Yellow Line metro route in Kolkata will connect Noapara and Barasat in North 24 Parganas. This Kolkata Metro route, which is under construction, will be around 16.8 kms.

Kolkata Metro Line 5 (Pink Line)

A 12.5-km metro stretch will be developed, connecting Baranagar to Barrackpore as part of the Kolkata Metro’s Pink Line route. The section will include 11 stations.

Kolkata Metro Line 6 (Orange Line)

This 29.8-km route of Kolkata Metro will link New Garia with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport via the two satellite towns of Salt Lake and New Town. Once opened, metro Line 6 route in Kolkata will provide easy access to the Kolkata Airport, especially for those living in the southern and the eastern parts of the city.

Kavi Subash – Hemanta Mukherjee section will be developed as part of Kavi Subhash-Dumdum Airport via Rajarhat’s new metro line. The section has been built at a cost of Rs 1,550 crore. Once operational, the two metro lines of the Kolkata metro network will be linked at Kavi Subhash station.

The Kolkata Metro Railway is conducting trial runs on the Kavi-Subash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section. The section has received the required approval from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS). The metro has completed five round trips using an air-conditioned Medha rake to assess factors such as track conditions, power supply, proper docking of the rake, and the efficiency of station staff.

The Kavi-Subash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section was inaugurated on March 6, 2024.

The Metro Railway authorities in Kolkata have conducted trial runs on the newly extended section of the Orange Line, from Ruby Crossing to Beleghata station along the EM bypass. The extended section of the Kolkata Orange Line route covers 4.39 kilometre in length. The metro section connects Hemanta Mukhopadhyay station in the south to Beleghata in the north.

Kavi Subash – Hemanta Mukherjee Metro line stations:

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Kolkata Metro map

Source: Metro Railway, Kolkata