The Kolkata Metro has retracted its earlier press release announcing additional weekday services on the Blue Line along with five direct Metro services between Jai Hind Bimanbandar and Shahid Khudiram, which were scheduled to begin from 8 January.
In a fresh statement issued subsequently on Wednesday, Metro authorities cited operational reasons for the withdrawal and clarified that the earlier announcement stands cancelled for now. The Metro also stated that any revised plans or further developments regarding the proposed services will be communicated to the press at a later stage.
According to the previous statement, which has now been withdrawn, Kolkata Metro Railway would operate three new direct services from Jai Hind Bimanbandar to Shahid Khudiram starting 8 January.
At present, there are two direct services from Jai Hind Bimanbandar to Shahid Khudiram, one each at 9.36am and 9pm. The new services were scheduled to depart at 8.18am, 9.12am and 5.47pm on weekdays, as per the previous press release.
The Metro recently announced additional services on Sundays in January. On the Blue Line (Dakshineswar–Shahid Khudiram), the metro will run 160 services — 80 in the up direction and 80 in the down direction — on Sundays, up from the usual 130.