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Not a subterranean instinct, it's just the hype that Lilyn Kamath succumbed to while taking the tube in Calcutta, India... …

We took the ride for kicks. Everyone was talking so much about the ‘Metro’ that we 'had' to be a part of the crowd and talk about it too. The Calcutta metro is famous all around the world. It's one of the most talked about in backpacker hostels as you travel worldwide! But, the only way to do so was to actually go underground and see what the gab was all about. So we went to the Metro…

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We were at Kalighat (I have no recollection why we were there in the first place) and off to the Esplanade (that I remember… it was for shopping!). We bought the tickets and scrambled down the stairs, just in time to catch the incoming train. Like they say, "The light at the end of the tunnel is that of an oncoming train" and it was. We got onto the train but since it was the office 'rush hour', we did not get places to sit. And it was also impossible to look out of the windows for the same reason. Fortunately, the 'announcer' kept telling which station was due to arrive and on which side of the train so we were assured of alighting at the right station. The ride altogether was a comfortable one, if you can block out the crowds from your memory.

Now my personal opinion (and I hate being disagreed with!) is that Calcutta is no more dirtier than any other city. Every city has its good and bad parts. But when it comes to the metro, I have not seen a cleaner and more well kept one… and mind you, I have seen a few.

The walls are clean and tiled. Each station is decorated in keeping with a certain theme, with claddings ranging from murals to paintings. After all these years they are still there and very much intact. No sprayed-on messages or promo posters here! The locals take much pride in their Metro, which is the only one in India and one of six in the world, and show it in the way they maintain it.

 

A little bit of trivia
Before I move to the essentials - There is actually a Law called The Calcutta Metro Railway (Operation And Maintenance) Temporary Provisions Act, 1985, which makes temporary provisions for the operation and maintenance of the Calcutta Metro Railway and for matters connected to it, pending the making of regular arrangements for such operation and maintenance. That is how important the Metro is to the residents.

General Information
The Calcutta underground railway network connects Dum Dum to Tollygunge, with stations in between being Belgachia, Shyambazar, Sovabazar, Girish Park, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Central, Chandni Chowk, Esplanade, Park Street, Maidan, Rabindra Sadan, Netaji Bhavan (Bhowanipore), Jatin Das Park, Kalighat, Ravindra Sarovar. The terminal station at Dum-Dum, situated close to the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport connects commuters to Tollygunge (situated on the southern fringes of Calcutta), stopping at all major junctions across the length of the city.

MetroTickets:
Costs
Up to 5km Rs.3
5-10km Rs.5
Above 10km Rs.7

Types of tickets available:
Daily Tickets Single person single journey
Single person two journeys
Multi person (from 2 to 7) single journey
Multi person (from 2 to 7) two journeys
Multi Ride Tickets Limited Multi Ride - Valid for 30 days (12 rides charged for 11 rides)
Extended Multi Ride - Valid for 90 days (48 rides charged for 40 rides)

Stations: 17 (15 Nos. under ground, 1 on Surface and 1 elevated)
Travel time – DumDum to Tollygunge: 33 minutes
Coaches per Train: 8
Per Coach capacity: 278 standing, 48 sitting
Maximum Permissible Speed: 55kmph
Average Speed 30kmph

Timings:
Monday- - Friday
07:00 to 08:30 - 15 min intervals
08:30 to 12:00 - 10 min intervals
12:00 to 16:30 - 15 min intervals
16:30 to 19:30 - 10 min intervals
19:30 to 21:20 - 15 min intervals

Saturday
07:00 to 08:30 - 15 min intervals
08:30 to 11:30 - 10 min intervals
11:30 to 21:20 - 15 min intervals

Sunday
14:35 to 21:20 - 15 min intervals

Holidays
07:00 to 21:20 - 15 min intervals
During Durga Puja, a few extra trains are scheduled.

Traffic density:
Metro trains at two-minute intervals is able to carry over 60,000 passengers per hour - roughly equivalent to ten fairly crowded double-decker buses, running abreast, every one and one-quarter minutes. Each train carries 2558 passengers (approx.)