Kolkata: The Metro Railway, Kolkata announced Rs 10 as a surcharge will be levied on every ticket for special night service on a trial basis in the New Garia-Dumdum stretch of the Blue Line from Wednesday (January 1).
A Metro spokesperson said on Tuesday (December 31) the special night services will be available along both ways of Kavi Subhash and Dum Dum at 10:40 pm (on weekdays) from January 1, 2025 (Wednesday).
The spokesperson said the step was necessitated as occupancy of these special services, introduced a few months back, had been very poor and Rs 10 surcharge will be levied on each ticket for all special night services operated after normal services. The experimental surcharge will be reviewed in due course, he added.
On December 3, Metro Railways Kolkata had announced Rs 10 surcharge will be levied on night service tickets on the Dum Dum-New Garia corridor from December 10 but did not go ahead with the decision with immediate effect amid criticism in social media by a section of metro commuters against any such move.
The surcharge from January 1 will be the same irrespective of the distance travelled, the official said.
Kolkata Metro suffered Rs 1,376 crore loss in 3 yearsKolkata Metro Railway suffered a loss of Rs 1,376.72 crore in the last three financial years starting from 2021-22, the government's data presented in Rajya Sabha on Friday suggested.
BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya, while raising the financial performance of Blue Line of the Kolkata Metro, asked, "whether the Blue Line of Kolkata Metro is currently operating at a profit or a loss" and "the total income generated and expenses incurred by the blue line of Kolkata Metro during the last three financial years" among other issues.
In a written reply, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Kolkata Metro does not maintain line-wise data of income and expenditure.
"Accordingly, data for the Blue Line is not maintained separately," Vaishnaw added, presenting the details of the total revenue receipts and expenditure incurred by Kolkata Metro during the last three financial years in a tabular form.
According to the data, the Kolkata Metro lost Rs 487.37 crore in 2021-22, Rs 424.24 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 465.11 crore in 2023-24, totalling Rs 1,376.72 crore in three years. Vaishnaw said the Metro project in Kolkata started in 1972 and since then a 66-km line has been constructed.
"Presently, Metro corridors of a total of 59 km are under construction in and around Kolkata. Once the following lines joining Blue Line are completed, they are likely to further boost the ridership on Blue Line of Kolkata Metro," Vaishnaw added.
The railway minister narrated several measures focusing on both operational efficiency and financial performance such as optimising train frequency and timetable, introducing energy efficiency steps, increasing ridership, adopting pricing strategies and expanding the use of digital ticketing systems like smart ticketing and cashless payments.
