KOLKATA: The book fair has given East-West Metro its much-awaited milestone - 50,000 passengers in a day. On Saturday, East-West Metro registered 51,263 footfall, and the authorities are linking it to the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair.
Kaushik Mitra, CPRO, Metro Railway, said, "This is the first time that East-West Metro has breached the 50,000 daily passenger count. And it has become a major hit for book lovers in the KIBF season."
The carrier has increased Monday-Saturday services from 106 to 120 from January 31 to February 12, and is running special Sunday operations - with 80 trains - for the book fair on January 5 and February 12.
This Metro corridor had failed to draw meaningful crowd for the Sector V-Phoolbagan stretch even two years after its launch in February 2020. When Sealdah was added, passenger count increased from 3,376 to 31,037. The graph surged steadily to 41,956 in a week, but has since hovered around 45,000. Mitra said, "It takes more than an hour to cover the distance on bus. Book lovers are enjoying the speed and comfort of the Metro."
Trains are available at 12-minute intervals during peak hours from 6.50am to 9.40pm to cater to book fair visitors.