Metro Railway is bracing for a massive jump in footfall with three new corridors set to open on Friday. The Metro network’s total carrying capacity will more than double as new stretches on the Green, Orange, and Yellow Lines are opened to the public.

On Friday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate three sections: Esplanade to Sealdah (2.45km), completing the 16.6km Green Line; Noapara to Jai Hind Bimanbandar/airport (6.77km) on the Yellow Line; and Ruby to Beleghata (4.39km) on the Orange Line.

Passenger services on these sections will begin on Friday and Monday, said Metro officials.

Green Line (Howrah Maidan to Sector V):

Commercial operations start: After 6pm on Friday

Timings: 6.30am to 10.19pm

Orange Line (New Garia to Beleghata):

Services begin: Monday

Timings: 8am to 8.28pm

Yellow Line (Noapara to Jai Hind Bimanbandar):

Services begin: Monday

Timings: 7.58am to 8.10pm

Capacity set to soar

Once operational, the combined carrying capacity across the three corridors — Green, Orange, and Yellow — will be 9 lakh passengers a day, officials estimate.

Currently, truncated sections of the Green Line (Howrah Maidan-Esplanade and Sealdah-Sector V) handle less than 1 lakh. “With full Green Line operations, we expect at least 6 lakh daily passengers on this corridor alone,” an official said.

The Blue Line (Shahid Khudiram to Dakshineswar) serves over 6 lakh daily.

Pressure points

The busiest Metro hubs are expected to be Sealdah, Howrah, and Esplanade. Managing peak-hour crowds will be a major challenge, officials said.

At Sealdah, the Metro station has 29 ticket counters, but only about five are typically operational during peak hours. “We will have to open additional counters depending on passenger flow,” said an official.

There are 32 automatic fare collection (AFC) gates at Sealdah, but only a fraction have been in use. From Friday, more will be activated.

Howrah station has 30 ticket counters and 24 AFC gates, which will also be operated based on crowd volume, officials said.

At Esplanade, the interchange between the Green and Blue Lines, smooth passenger switchover will be crucial. “We will have signage and staff in place. Additional gates and more ticket counters will also be operational,” said a Metro official. “But how things play out will only be clear in the coming days,” the official added.

Faster commutes

The Green Line connects Howrah and Sealdah, two of the country’s busiest railway stations, reducing commute time between them to just 11 minutes. “Both stations are connected to the railway stations. That means the load of the suburban railway passengers who access Metro services will now rise significantly,” the official said.

Currently, many suburban passengers from Howrah use the Metro to reach Esplanade, then take a bus to Sealdah. From Friday, they can reach Sealdah directly by Metro — a major relief during peak hours.

“It’s hard to predict exact numbers now. We’ll have a clearer idea after about a month of full-scale operations,” said an official.