Metro Railway, Kolkata, has announced that it will run overnight services between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade for the benefit of pandal hoppers during the Durga Pujas.

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This metro link between Howrah and Kolkata, which passes under River Hooghly, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2024. Overnight services will also be run (as in previous years) between Kavi Subhash (New Garia) and Dakshineswar.

“On Saptami, Ashtami and Navami, Puja revellers can enjoy services between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade till after midnight. This will provide a big boost to people from Howrah and adjoining districts who wish to visit Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata this year,” a senior Metro Railway official said.

He added that on Saptami and Ashtami-Navami which fall on October 10 and October 11 (Ashtami and Navami fall on the same day), the first service from Howrah Maidan will start at 1.30 pm in the afternoon.

“The last service from Esplanade will be at 1.45 am the next morning. This will give people from Howrah and Hooghly 8-10 hours to go around pandals in Kolkata," a senior Metro Railway official said.

He said that the people from Hooghly can travel by suburban trains to Howrah station and take the Metro towards Esplanade from there. From Esplanade, revellers can switch to the Kavi-Subhash -Dakshineswar Metro of the North-South or Blue Line to cover a large number of Puja pandals in north and south Kolkata.

“Those wishing to visit pandals in Salt Lake or along VIP Road-Eastern Metropolitan Bypass can avail of the Green Line - 1 service between Sealdah and Salt Lake Sector-V. The first train in this section will start at 1 pm from Sealdah and the last service from Salt Lake Sector-V will be at 11.30 pm,” he said.

He said that the services along the Blue Line - India's first Metro link - will start at 1 pm from Dakshineswar and continue till 4 am the next morning on Saptami and Ashtami-Navami.

He added that the last train from Kavi Subhash to Dakshineswar will start at 3.48 am, giving pandal hoppers from the northern fringes of Kolkata and the district of North 24-Parganas enough time to enjoy themselves without paying too much thought on ways to get back home.

“There will be no services between Joka and Majerhat along the Purple Line and Kavi Subhash and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (Ruby Crossing) on the Orange Line on Saptami and Ashtami-Navami,” the official added.