Ahead of Durga Puja celebrations in West Bengal, Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal on Sunday (October 4) inaugurated the Phoolbagan station of Kolkata's East-West Metro corridor.
The union minister also flagged off the first train from the newly inaugurated Phoolbgan station through video link.
Goyal, while congratulating everyone for taking extra initiative to complete the work in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, said that the extension of services from Salt Lake Stadium to Phoolbagan (a stretch of 1.665 km) will be a great help for the commuters more so because of its proximity to Sealdah station.
Terming this as a gift for Durga Puja, he also said that the metro provides the safest, cleanest and fastest transportation system in Kolkata.
"Now, time taken to travel from Phoolbagan to Salt Lake Sector-5 by Metro will only be 16 minutes, as against more than 1 hour taken by road. Movement from one part of Kolkata to another is now going to be faster & convenient with enhanced connectivity," stated Goyal.
He also added, "According to estimates, the East-West Corridor of Kolkata Metro will be used by as many as 10 lakh people by 2035. This will not only reduce travel time but also bring down the pollution level by providing an eco-friendly mode of transport to the people of Kolkata."
Goyal further reassured that if the land is made available and encroachments are removed, then funds won’t be a constraint for implementing any railway project.
The total length of this project is 16.5 km and the total estimated project cost is Rs 8574.98 crore. The project will connect Howrah on the West bank of the river Hooghly with Salt Lake City on its East bank.
Commercial services to and from Phoolbagan station will start from Monday (October 5). Daily, 48 services will be run from 8:00 am to 7:50 pm from Salt Lake Sector-V to Phoolbagan at 30 minutes interval.
The last service will start from Salt Lake Sector-V and Phoolbagan stations at 7:30 pm. There will be no service on Sundays.
Piyush Goyal had inaugurated the first phase of the East-West metro from Salt Lake Stadium to Salt Lake Sector V on February 13, 2020.
