PM Narendra Modi launches Kolkata Metro's 6.5 km Joka-Taratala section for public

Kolkata, India (Metro Rail Today): Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Joka-Taratala Stretch of the Joka-Esplanade Metro Project (Purple Line) of Kolkata Metro today through video confrencing. The 6.5 km stretch having 6 stations namely Joka, Thakurpukur, Sakher Bazar, Behala Chowrasta, Behala Bazar and Taratala.

The 6.5 km stretch has been constructed at a cost of Rs 2,477.25 Crore. Passengers of southern parts of Kolkata City like Sarsuna, Dakghar, Muchipara and South 24 Parganas will be immensely benefited from the inauguration of this project.

While addressing a gathering through video confrencing, the Prime Minister emphasised that in the last 8 years, Indian Railways worked on the foundation of modernity and the coming years will see Indian Railway embarking on a new journey of modernization. The Prime Minister informed that while 20 thousand route kilometre rail lines were electrified in the first 70 years of Independence, more than 32 thousand route kilometres have been electrified since 2014.

The Prime Minister said that the Metro Rail system is an example of India’s speed and scale today. “Metro network which was less than 250 km before 2014 had the highest share in Delhi-NCR. In the last 7-8 years Metro has expanded to more than 2 dozen cities. Today Metro is running on an approximately 800 km long Metro track in different cities of the country. Work is going on Metro routes of more than 1000 km”.

Trial runs on Joka -Taratala metro stretch of Kolkata Metro were being held since mid-September and it received the mandatory Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) clearance in November 2022. Work for the remaining part of the line is underway, which will eventually connect Esplanade at the heart of the city to the southwestern suburbs.

When completed, the Joka Line will meet the North-South corridor and the East-West Metro at Esplanade. The East-West corridor (Line 2) is partially operational between Sector V station and Sealdah. Currently, Metro train services in Kolkata are available on two routes -- the North-South Metro Corridor between Dakshineswar and Kavi Subhas, and the East-West Metro Corridor between Sealdah and Salt Lake Sector V.

According to officials, the remaining section of East-West Metro Corridor, connecting Salt Lake and Howrah is likely to start operations by August next year.