The Calcutta Metro will continue its normal services as per timetable in all the routes on Thursday and Friday, despite the looming cyclone Dana, informed the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of the Eastern Railway.
“The cyclone may hit after 8 pm. Lot of people have asked us about metro services because of the cyclone. Let me be clear, metro services will be normal. No changes. The last metro in the Dumdum-Kavi Subhash line will operate till the 10.40 pm last metro. The Howrah Maidan- Esplanade, Salt Lake sector V to Sealdah services will also operate as per schedule,” said CPRO Kaushik Mitra to the media.
Dana ashuk ar jai ashuk, metro rail apnader sathei thakbe, ei jonnoi metro rail Kolkatar lifeline (Whether it is Dana or whatever, metro rail is beside you. So the metro is Calcutta’s lifeline). Mitra said in a video message posted on X by the Metro Railway Kolkata.
The ‘severe cyclonic storm’, named Dana, is expected to cross the coasts of the eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal between midnight (1830 GMT) Thursday and Friday morning with wind speeds of 100-110 kph (62-68 mph), gusting up to 120 kph (75 mph).
The Calcutta airport authorities have suspended flight operations for 15 hours from 6 pm on Thursday in view of the impact of cyclone Dana, according to an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official.
The Eastern Railway have cancelled 190 local trains in its Sealdah division from 8 pm on Thursday till 10 am on Friday in view of cyclonic storm ‘Dana’, an official said to the PTI.
The authorities have taken these steps for the safety of passengers, airline employees, various equipment, navigational aids and infrastructure taking flights and as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of train passengers.