Ten additional trains will be added to the weekday Metro fleet from Monday, the carrier said.
“Metro will run 266 daily services instead of 256 from Monday to Friday from October 4,” said a release issued by the carrier on Thursday.
The timings will remain unchanged. The first and last trains will leave Dum Dum and New Garia at 7.30am and 9.30pm, respectively. From Dakshineswar, the first and last trains will leave for New Garia at 7.30am and 9.18pm, respectively.
On Saturday, there are 214 trains and on Sunday, 120 trains. The weekend fleet is officially for railway employees and essential service providers. But with the festive season approaching, the trains are often crowded with other passengers.
“We need a direction from the state government to run trains for everybody on the weekend,” said a Metro official.
A smart card will be mandatory for a Metro ride and tokens will remain suspended.
Before the pandemic, the carrier used to run a maximum of 300 trains every day. The number of trains was increased to 258 in April this year, the most during the pandemic.
After a long shutdown last year, Metro services resumed from September 14, 2020. An e-pass system was introduced for access control at the gates when Metro services resumed. The number of trains and passenger count went up slowly, unlike after this year’s resumption. The carrier resumed with 192 trains on weekdays.