Crowd thins on first working day, but E-W staffers expect rush as week progresses

Kolkata: After a crowded weekend, truncated services of

East-West Metro

saw a thinner crowd on the first day of the week. While the number of joyriders, who had kept trains full since the commencement of the service on February 14, came down sharply, it was time for office-goers to take over. But the ticket counters didn’t see long queues on Monday morning.

The crowd grew as the day progressed, though. The Sector V and Salt Lake Stadium stations saw a reasonable turnout in the afternoon. Unlike the first weekend, joyriders were replaced with those who availed the services to commute to work or for convenience. Calcutta State Transport Corporation employee Mrinal Das took a train to the Salt Lake Stadium station en route to work. Das said it was convenient for him. “It is getting warmer and I would prefer to avoid commuting in buses, which are crowded anyway. I plan to take an AC bus from Salt Lake Stadium, which is also cheaper for me,” said Das.

Librarian Priyanka Naskar, a Sector V employee, walked into the swank, new Metro station on her way to Phoolbagan. It was her first ride since she had avoided the weekend crowd. “I am not for joyrides but the Metro will be extremely useful for me. I will be using it daily now. Everything about the East-West Metro is nice and perfect,” she said.

Private hospital executive Tanmay Sil rued that the Metro services begin a little too late for him to be able to take a train to work. But he has decided to use it on the way back from work. “Since I stay at Sector V, I will be getting down at the station and walk home. It’s a pleasure to ride this Metro and I feel really proud as a Kolkatan,” Sil said.

It could get crowded as the week progresses since many are still figuring out how to use the new Metro to commute to work, felt those at the ticket counters. “This is still a truncated service and the first day of the week. The crowd should swell towards the middle of the week,” said a Metro employee. It will indeed change the way people in the north-eastern part of the city travel, said state government employee Taj Ahmed. “My office is at Phoolbagan and commuting to work has suddenly become very easy and comfortable for me. And what’s more, the Metro is also faster and cheaper. I couldn’t have asked for more,” said Ahmed.