Kolkata Metro Extends Service Through Durga Puja Nights

Durga Puja is finally here, and as the city lights up with pandals, the Kolkata Metro has rolled out a special timetable to make sure you can get home even after an all‑night puja crawl. Think of it as a friendly night‑owl service on the Blue and Green corridors.

Here’s the gist: on Maha Panchami (Oct 15) and Maha Sasthi (Oct 16) the Metro will push out 284 trains on the Blue Line and 240 on the Green Line. That translates to a train roughly every six minutes during the rush hour – pretty tight, right?

From Oct 17 to Oct 20 (covering Saptami, Ashtami and Navami) the Blue Line will stay alive until 4 AM the next morning, while the Green Line will run right up to 3:59 AM. In other words, you can hop off a late‑night pandal and still catch a train home without waiting for sunrise.

Don’t expect the usual schedule, though. The Orange Line will be completely closed between Oct 17‑21 – a temporary shut‑down to let the authorities focus on the busier Blue and Green routes.

Specific timings you might want to note: on Oct 15‑16 the first Blue‑Line train departs Shahid Khudiram and Dakshineswar at 6 AM, and the last one leaves at about 10:50 PM. But there’s a bonus – a handful of late‑night services start at 11 PM from both ends, making the journey possible well past midnight.

For the later days (Oct 17‑20) the Blue Line kicks off at 1 PM from Shahid Khudiram, Gitanjali and Mahanayak Uttam Kumar, heading toward Dakshineswar. The very first train that day leaves Noapara at 1:02 PM. The final Blue‑Line train of the night will pull out of Dakshineswar at 3:46 AM and from Shahid Khudiram at 3:48 AM – you’ll barely miss the sunrise.

The Green Line, meanwhile, runs extra services between Howrah Maidan and Salt Lake Sector V. On Oct 15‑16 you’ll see 240 trains between 6 AM and 11 PM, with six‑minute gaps at peak times. From Oct 17‑20 the service window stretches from 1:30 PM to the next morning, with 192 trains a day and an eight‑minute headway during rush hour.

On the final day of the festival – Dashami (Oct 21) – the Metro eases back a little. The Blue Line will operate 140 trains from 1 PM to 10:30 PM, with an eight‑minute interval between trains. The last runs on that day will leave Shahid Khudiram for Dum Dum and Dakshineswar for Mahanayak Uttam Kumar at 10:30 PM.

All in all, the Metro’s night‑owl plan aims to keep the city moving, reduce traffic snarls, and make sure that after a night of chanting and sweets you’re not stranded far from home.