Kolkata Metro on Thursday appealed to passengers to cooperate with operational adjustments following the indefinite closure of Kavi Subhash station, even as services were once again disrupted during the afternoon rush.
Officials explained that not all rakes can be extended up to Shahid Khudiram due to technical and operational constraints. As a result, 32 of the 272 daily services are being turned back from Mahanayak Uttam Kumar station to maintain a five-minute headway during peak hours and seven minutes during non-peak periods.
Metro authorities said resistance from commuters asked to disembark at Mahanayak Uttam Kumar during rush hours was aggravating punctuality issues and creating cascading delays across the network.
Steps are being taken to revive the Mahanayak Uttam Kumar shed, set up a reversal facility at Shahid Khudiram, reduce asset failures, and restore Kavi Subhash at the earliest.
Hitendra Malhotra, member (operations & business development) of the Railway Board, reviewed the situation on Thursday, inspecting Kavi Subhash, Shahid Khudiram, Mahanayak Uttam Kumar and Esplanade stations. He also held discussions on crowd management and the repair plan ahead of the festive season.
The network suffered fresh trouble during the day when services between Shahid Khudiram and Mahanayak Uttam Kumar were suspended for nearly an hour after a snag developed in the point system near the closed Kavi Subhash station at 12.20pm.
A rake heading for reversal was halted, leaving trains stalled and passengers stranded on platforms until services resumed around 12.50pm.
Commuters voiced anger at the repeated disruptions, complaining of a steady decline in service quality in recent months despite repeated assurances of improvement.
“Every week there is some fault or delay. It’s becoming impossible to rely on the Metro for office travel,” said one passenger at Garia.
Kavi Subhash station has remained shut since July 28 after cracks appeared in four pillars and on the platform structure. Authorities have announced a nine-month repair programme.
On Monday, services on the North-South corridor were hit for nearly an hour during peak hours when a rake developed a mechanical fault, compounding commuter frustration.