The airport Metro service was hailed as a godsend by passengers on its very first day.
Aashish Kumar Bharadwaj, a chartered accountant, was among the early users of the service. He took the Metro from Jai Hind Bimanbandar (airport) to Tollygunge, then a car home to Behala, changing trains at Noapara.
“I returned from an audit in Dehradun and landed in Calcutta on an IndiGo flight just before 3pm. By 4.30pm, I was home at Jayasree Park in Behala. This has never happened before,” he told Metro.
“Usually, a taxi ride from the airport to my home takes over two hours — and getting a taxi is not always easy, it takes a while before you can get a cab. Today, it was a seven-minute walk from the arrival gate to the Metro platform.”
He described the convenience of walking directly into the Metro station from the airport gates. Trouble with internet connectivity in the tunnel and on the Metro platform made it difficult to check app cab fares, but he said the usual taxi fare for the route ranges between ₹650 and ₹800.
“Having Metro connectivity to the airport feels more reassuring,” he said.
Recalling a recent ordeal, Bharadwaj said: “On August 2, I missed a flight to Nagpur.”
“The flight to Nagpur was scheduled to depart at 8.40pm, but I reached the airport at 8.20pm — too late because the boarding had closed. I had to take a later flight to Bangalore, landed past midnight, and spent the rest of the night at the airport before flying to Nagpur at 5am,” Bharadwaj said.
On Monday, however, the experience was smooth. He took the first train from the airport Metro station to Noapara, changed to the Blue Line, and rode to Tollygunge, where his car was waiting. “The first leg took about 12 minutes. I had to wait for a couple of minutes before taking the second Metro, and that ride took around 45 minutes,” Bharadwaj said.
He suggested adding direction boards or signage in the tunnel connecting the airport and the Metro station to aid passengers. But looking ahead, he is hopeful.
“With the Joka-Esplanade Metro line construction picking up pace, I hope to skip the car or cab altogether. I want direct Metro connectivity between the airport and my neighbourhood.”