PM Modi Inaugurates New Kolkata Metro Routes Amid Political Tension
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three new metro routes in Kolkata on Friday, marking a significant step in the city's transportation infrastructure. Among the new routes unveiled is the first-ever direct link to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, a 13.61 km-long network spanning the Green, Yellow, and Orange lines.
The new stretches are expected to ease congestion on the city’s clogged roads. The Green Line extension between Sealdah and Esplanade (2.45 km) will link Kolkata’s two busiest railway terminals, Howrah and Sealdah, for the first time. A road journey that typically takes 50 minutes in traffic can now be completed in just 11 minutes underground.
For air travelers, the Yellow Line stretch from Noapara to Jai Hind Bimanbandar (6.77 km) connects the airport directly to the metro grid, ending a four-decade wait. The commute time to the airport, which often exceeds an hour by road, is now expected to go down to around 30 minutes.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the inauguration. Trinamool Congress leaders said the party took the decision over alleged harassment of Bengali migrants in BJP-ruled states. The party has accused governments in Assam, Odisha, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Gujarat of detaining and profiling Bengali-speaking workers as “illegal Bangladeshis.”
Earlier today, Banerjee said that the newly-inaugurated metro projects by PM Modi were planned and sanctioned during her tenure as railway minister. She took to X and posted, “Allow me to be a little nostalgic today. As the Railways Minister of India, I was fortunate in planning and sanctioning a series of Metro Railway corridors in metropolitan Kolkata. I had drawn the blueprints, arranged the funds, initiated the works, and ensured that the different ends of the city (Joka, Garia, Airport, Sector V, etc) were connected by an intra-city Metro grid. Later, as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, I had the additional privilege of taking part in the execution of the projects.”
Mamata Banerjee held the railway portfolio twice. She was the railways minister first in the NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1999-2001). She got the ministry again during the Congress-led UPA-2 from 2009 to 2011.
The inauguration of these new metro routes is expected to significantly boost the real estate sector in Kolkata, making it more attractive for both residential and commercial development. The improved connectivity will likely reduce travel times and enhance the overall quality of life for the city's residents.
