Joka-Taratala metro stretch | Day 1: 5003 passengers take Metro ride

Roses were distributed among the first 100 commuters of the first ride and many of the passengers were elated to take the first journey on the Joka-Taratala Metro stretch (Purple line).

Commuters on the first day of the commercial run of Kolkata Metro’s Joka-Taratala line Monday.

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COMMERCIAL SERVICES on the Joka-Taratala stretch of Joka-Esplanade Metro (purple line) commenced on Monday. The first rake departed from Joka towards Taratala with passengers at 10 am. The first Metro from Joka carried 306 passengers. While many passengers were happy about the service, some believe that it is not of much help till the route is connected till the Majerhat Railway Station.

“With the one-train-only system [without signals], it is like a joy ride. It doesn’t serve much purpose, but once Majerhat is connected which is a two-km extension, it will be of great help. Several passengers travel to Kolkata from the south suburban areas through Majerhat Railway station daily,” said Madhu Chaturvedi, a beauty parlour owner as she took the ride.

Roses were distributed among the first 100 commuters of the first ride and many of the passengers were elated to take the first journey on the Joka-Taratala Metro stretch (Purple line).

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Kaushik Mitra, deputy chief operations manager/ commercial, the Metro Railway handed over the first token of the purple line Metro to Prabhat Kumar Chatterjee, the first commuter, in presence of other Metro officials. Mitra also presented a gift to him to mark the occasion.

“Joka to Taratala there are other alternatives available like auto buses too. However, nothing is as comfortable as metro ride. It is good that finally this has started. It gives us hope that soon it will connect Majerhat Railway Station too,” said Snehal Bhattacharya who took the metro ride to visit a friend’s ailing father who is undergoing treatment at a nursing home in Taratala.

This route will have 12 daily services , six up and six down. These trains will run at 10 am, 11 am, 12 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm and 5 pm from Joka and at 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 am, 3:30 pm, 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm from Taratala.

In the first phase there are six stations along the 6.5 km journey including Joka, Thakurpukur, Sakherbazar, Behala Chowrasta, Behala Bazar and Taratala. The minimum fare on this route is 5 rupees and the maximum fare is Rs 20.

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However, for the time being, the next train will leave only when a train reaches its destination on a line.

Joka-Taratala metro service was recently inaugurated after more than 12 years of construction work. It was virtually launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and other dignitaries.

“The frequency of trains is hourly, there is also a break in services from noon and the evening train start at 3 pm from Joka and at 3:30 pm from Taratala. This has given us some hope. Hopefully, the entire route will be covered soon,” said Papiya Basu a resident of Behala Chowrasta.

The corridor was originally planned as a 16 km link from Joka to BBD Bag. It will now terminate in the Esplanade Metro hub. The Taratala-Majerhat section of the 14 km Joka-Esplanade corridor will eventually connect the south suburban areas to the heart of the city, Esplanade in Kolkata.

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