The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Joka-Taratala Stretch of the Joka-Esplanade Metro Project (Purple Line).
More Details:
- 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. 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.
- The 6.5 km stretch having 6 stations namely Joka, Thakurpukur, Sakher Bazar, Behala Chowrasta, Behala Bazar and Taratala has been constructed at a cost of more than Rs 2475 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.
- In Joka — Esplanade Purple Line, a total length of 9.2 km viaduct completed from ramp of Joka Depot to the start of Majerhat station. 110 UTS HH rails have been used in this prestigious project which is indigenously built for the first time in our country.
About Kolkata Metro:
- Metro Railway, Kolkata is the first underground Metro in India. It extends from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash Metro station near Garia, on the busy North-South axis of Kolkata over a length of 31.365 Kms. with 26 Stations & 15.70 Kms. of underground section.
- Based on traffic studies, the Dum Dum – Tollygunge corridor was first selected for implementation and work started on 29th December, 1972. The first metro line in India was completed on 24th October 1984, a stretch of about 3.4 km between Esplanade and Bhowanipur (Netaji Bhavan), thrown open for the Public.
- The Metro Railway, Kolkata was constructed progressively from 1972 to 2021. In Phase-I, a length of 16.45 Kms from Dum Dum to Tollygunge (Mahanayak Uttam Kumar) completed in 1995 and in Phase-II a length of 5.834 Kms from Mahanayak Uttam Kumar to Kavi Nazrul Metro station is completed in August, 2009.
- In October 2010, Metro services further extended upto Kavi Subhash, a length of 2.851 Kms. It further extended Dum Dum to Noapara, a length of 2.091 Kms, on 10th July 2013. The last leg was opened on 23rd February 2021 for commercial operation from Noapara to Dakshineswar (4.139 Kms).
- It extended in the East-West axis from Salt Lake Sector-V to Salt Lake Stadium, covering a length of 5.3 kms with 6 stations on 13th February 2020 and further extended from Salt Lake Stadium to Phoolbagan on 4th October 2020 (1.67 kms). It is further extended from Phoolbagan to Sealdah (2.33 kms) on 11th July 2022.
Source: PIB- Press Release | Image Credit (representational): Kolkata Metro
