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Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal gives 'Durga Puja' gift to Kolkata, inaugurates Phoolbagan metro station

The first phase of the East-West metro from Salt Lake Stadium to Salt Lake Sector V was inaugurated by Goyal on February 13 in 2020.

  • Commercial services to and from Phoolbagan station will start from Monday.
  • Daily 48 services will run from 08:00 hrs to 19:50 hrs 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 19:30 hrs.
  • There will be no service on Sunday.

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Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal gives 'Durga Puja' gift to Kolkata, inaugurates Phoolbagan metro station Metro photo credits: ANI

Kolkata: Weeks ahead of the Durga Puja celebrations in West Bengal, the Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal on Sunday (October 4, 2020) gave a gift to Kolkata by inaugurating the Phoolbagan metro station on the East-West metro. The Minister also flagged off the first train from the newly inaugurated station through a video link. 

Goyal congratulated everyone for taking extra initiative to complete the work in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic and expressed that this extension of services from the Salt Lake Stadium to Phoolbagan (a stretch of more 1.5 km) will be a great help for the commuters, more so because of its proximity to Sealdah station. 

He termed this as a gift for Durga Puja and 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 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."


The first phase of the East-West metro from Salt Lake Stadium to Salt Lake Sector V was inaugurated by Goyal on February 13 in 2020.

Commercial services to and from Phoolbagan station will start from Monday. Daily 48 services will run from 08:00 hrs to 19:50 hrs 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 19:30 hrs and there will be no service on Sunday.

Goyal reassured that if the land is made available and encroachments are removed, then funds won’t be a constraint for implementing any Railway project.

As per a PTI news agency's report, the entire stretch of the corridor, connecting Sector-V and Howrah Maidan, is likely to be completed by December 2021.

"I am told that by the end of next year, the entire East-West Corridor project of 16.55 km is expected to be completed; hopefully with no further hiccups coming up due to the COVID pandemic," PTI quoted Goyal as saying while inaugurating the extension of the line.

Babul Supriyo, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change congratulated Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry for taking the initiative to commission this modern and beautiful Phoolbagan Metro station so early. He expressed his hope that in the coming days, people will be able to commute to and from Sealdah station easily due to this extension of the East-West Metro. 

Sushri Debasree Chaudhuri, Minister of State for Women and Child Development was also present in this programme and expressed her happiness for the commissioning of Phoolbagan station.

Manoj Joshi, General Manager, Metro Railway, in his inaugural address spoke about how the opening of this station will facilitate metro commuters to go to the IT Hub in Salt Lake Sector-V, International Bus Terminal and Mela Ground in Karunamoyee, important Government offices at Central Park and the famous Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium).

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