Kolkata Metro

The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. It is the first operational rapid transit system in India, and the second busiest metro network in India. it has three operational lines: a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash, a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, and a line from Joka to Taratala, for a total of . Three other lines are in various phases of construction. The system has a mix of underground, at-grade and elevated stations using both broad-gauge and standard-gauge tracks. Trains operate between 06:55 and 22:30 IST and the fares range from ₹5 to ₹25. The Kolkata Metro was initially planned in the 1920s, but construction started in the 1970s. The first underground stretch, from Bhawanipore (now Netaji Bhawan) to Esplanade, opened in 1984. A truncated section of Line 2, or the East–West Corridor, from Salt Lake Sector V to Phoolbagan opened in 2020. Line 3, or the Joka-Esplanade Corridor (currently truncated in Taratala), opened in 2022. It is the fifth-longest operational metro network in India after the Delhi Metro, Namma Metro, Hyderabad Metro and Chennai Metro. Metro Railway, Kolkata and Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation are the owners and operator of the system. On 29 December 2010, Metro Railway, Kolkata, became the 17th zone of the Indian Railways, completely owned and funded by the Ministry of Railways. It is the only metro in the country to be controlled by Indian Railways. There are around 300 daily train trips carrying more than passengers. In the September 1919 session of the Imperial Legislative Council at Shimla, a committee was set up by W. E. Crum that recommended a metro line for Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). This line was supposed to connect Bagmari in the east to Benaras Road, Salkia, in Howrah in the west via a tunnel beneath Hooghly River. The estimated construction costs were £3,526,154, about based on current exchange rates, and the proposed deadline was 1925–1926.