Direct Metro from Kolkata Airport to Shahid Khudiram starts tommorow

Passengers, especially those travelling to and from the airport, have something to cheer about as a new direct service is starting tommorow, as announced in an official notification by Kolkata Metro Authority. The commuters can now take a straight metro from Jai Hind Biman Bandar (Kolkata Airport) metro station all the way to Shahid Khudiram station without changing trains at Noapara. This trial service will run on weekdays, with two trains a day – one leaving at 9:36 AM in the morning and another at 9:00 PM night. It will help air travellers and daily riders reach bustling spots like Dumdum, Shyambazar, Esplanade, Kalighat and Tollygunje and further to Garia faster and with less hassle.

The route starts from Kolkata Airport along the Yellow Line till Noapara surpassing metro stations like Jessore Road, Dumdum Cantonment and Noapara and will cover all the stations along the Blue Line. Right now, the Yellow Line only runs between the Airport and Noapara, so people heading towards South Kolkata need to switch their train at Noapara and then interchange journey towards Blue Line to reach their respective destinations. This new direct option ends that trouble for at least two services each day from Monday to Friday. Kolkata Metro authorities says it's starting on an experimental basis to see how it works and to make travel easier for late-night or early arrivals at Dum Dum airport. While Kavi Subhash station, the end of the Blue Line, is still closed for repairs, trains stop at Shahid Khudiram as the southern terminal.

Once Kavi Subhash reopens, there is a possibility of services from the airport to Kavi Subhash directly along the Blue Line. There will be at least two metro services a day, which will run directly from Kolkata Airport station to Shahid Khudiram. However, there is yet no information on when a direct metro service from Shahid Khudiram to the Airport will launch. Metro Authorities hopes that it will bring partial relief to commuters who have faced longer waits and changes since the airport link opened earlier this year. More such direct trains could come if the trial goes well, making Kolkata's metro network even more convenient.