'Historic gift before Durga Puja': PM Modi to inaugurate 3 Kolkata metro projects on Aug 22

The projects, hailed as a “historic gift” for West Bengal before Durga Puja, are expected to ease travel for lakhs of commuters and boost connectivity between the IT hub, major railway stations, and the suburbs.

Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate three metro projects in Kolkata on August 22, Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said on Thursday.

Modi will inaugurate the Sealdah-Esplanade section of the Green Line, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (Ruby Crossing)-Beleghata section of the Orange Line, and Noapara- Jai Hind (airport) section of the Yellow Line, he said in a post on X, sharing an invitation sent to him by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to the inauguration programme.

With this, the Green Line, touted as India's first underwater metro, will become fully operational, connecting Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector 5, and the Kolkata airport will get a metro link.

Majumdar said it was a "historic gift" for West Bengal before Durga Puja.

The inauguration function will be held at the Jessore Road metro station of the Yellow Line in the northern suburbs of the city, according to the letter.

At present, the Green Line is operational in two disjointed sections -- Howrah Maidan-Esplanade and Sealdah-Salt Lake Sector 5. Construction of the Sealdah-Esplanade section was disrupted following a series of subsidence in Bowbazar in the central part of the city.

The much-awaited inauguration of the Sealdah-Esplanade section will help lakhs of people travelling to the IT hub Sector 5, as the Green Line connects with the Blue Line at Esplanade, besides linking Howrah and Sealdah railway stations.

PM Modi will also inaugurate a subway at the Howrah metro station.

The airport will also get a metro link with this inauguration, benefiting flyers and also helping people commuting to Kolkata from the northern suburbs. The Yellow Line will connect with the Blue Line at Noapara.

The Orange Line, already operational between New Garia and Ruby Crossing, will benefit people living in the eastern and southern suburbs of the metropolis.

In the invitation letter, Vaishnaw said the Centre is committed to upgrading train services and infrastructure in West Bengal.

He said that at present, works of Rs 83,765 crore are in progress in West Bengal, and a record allocation of Rs 13,955 crore was made in this budget for the state.

Vaishnaw said 101 railway stations in the state are being redeveloped, while nine Vande Bharat and two Amrit Bharat trains are running here.

Metro Railway Kolkata, which operates the city's mass rapid transit system, is a zone of the Indian Railways.