With daily Metro footfall expected to touch 11-12 lakh during Durga Puja this year, up from over 9 lakh last year, Metro Railway has rolled out a Tourist Smart Card offering unlimited journeys for three or five days. In a press notification, the officials said the move is aimed at making travel more seamless for visitors and commuters during the festive rush across the expanded Metro network.
Unlimited travel for a flat price
The Tourist Smart Card allows unlimited rides across the network for a fixed price of Rs 250 for three days and Rs 550 for five days. The card can be purchased from booking counters at all Metro stations. Officials said the facility is particularly convenient for tourists and pandal-hoppers as they can avoid repeated queuing for tokens or recharges.
How it differs from regular smart cards
Metro officials are hoping to decongest booking counters and encourage passengers to switch to digital ticketing iStock
Unlike the regular Smart Card that works on a pay-as-you-go system, the Tourist Smart Card offers unrestricted travel within its validity period. Regular Smart Card users continue to enjoy a 5 per cent bonus on recharge value, and commuters can also buy Mobile QR tickets through the ‘Aamar Kolkata Metro’ app with the same rebate. Metro officials said this will help decongest booking counters and encourage passengers to switch to digital ticketing.
Rising smart travel adoption
In the past 11 days alone, Metro sold 24,170 Smart Cards and recorded more than 4.56 lakh bookings through mobile QR tickets. Officials said this growing preference for smart travel shows that passengers are adapting quickly to digital modes.
Special Mahalaya services
Metro Railway will also run 182 services on September 21, the day of Mahalaya, instead of the usual 130 on a Sunday. Of these, 173 will run to and from Dakshineswar. The first trains will leave from Noapara, Dakshineswar and Dum Dum between 6.50am and 6.55am, with the last train timings remaining unchanged.
The announcement comes at a time when Metro Railway services have seen multiple disruptions in recent weeks on both the Blue and Green lines, leaving commuters stranded during peak hours. Officials said steps are being taken to improve reliability as passenger numbers rise ahead of Puja.
