Kolkata Metro to run around 66 special trains on Sep 13 to facilitate NEET examinees

Meanwhile, Kolkata Metro Rail will be back on tracks from the next day on September 14.

This was decided at a meeting between Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation and West Bengal Government on Friday.

Kolkata metro commuters will have to pre-book travel slots to avail service for which Kolkata Metro Rail has already launched an app.

After pre-booking travel slots, the commuters will receive a colour-coded token or e-pass and entry will be allowed inside the station only after showing this token for the specific time slot.

West Bengal State Transport Department, Kolkata Police and Kolkata Metro will work in unison.

Those not having smart cards can purchase it from inside the station ticket counters upon showing the e-pass, which has to be booked at least four to six hours in advance as per slot availability.

Kolkata Metro estimates issuing 4000 e-passes per hour, while trains are likely to run every 12 minutes.

Kolkata Metro will resume service with minimum 100 to maximum 120 trains everyday, but newly inaugurated East-West metro will not function right now.

Kolkata Metro has already installed sanitisation tunnels, while face masks will be mandatory to avail service.

Meanwhile, all Banks started functioning on Saturdays from September 05 excepting second and fourth as was the format earlier.

The state administration on July 20 directed Banks to stay shut on all Saturdays and Sundays following spike in Covid-19 cases.

The banks would, however, remain closed on State Government-imposed total lockdown days of September 7, 11 and 12.

"Now in consideration of the current Covid-19 situation and the relaxation in different activities permitted by the government outside the containment zones, it has been decided to rescind the effect of the notification (of July 20) with immediate effect thereby allowing all bank branches to work on Saturdays henceforth excepting the 2nd and 4th Saturday which had so long been observed as holidays of banks prior to issuance of the notification,” stated an official notification.