Overview

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Sealdah–Esplanade stretch of the Green Line, the Beleghata–Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section of the Orange Line and the Noapara–Jai Hind segment of the Yellow Line on August 22 at Jessore Road station.
• The Commissioner of Railway Safety granted clearance for the Esplanade–Sealdah section in April after resolving Bowbazar soil subsidence and water leakage issues that had stalled the under-river corridor since 2019.
• The 7 km Noapara–Jai Hind link will provide Kolkata’s first direct metro connection to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, easing travel for flight-bound passengers.
• Commissioning the Sealdah–Esplanade gap will unite the full 16.6 km Green Line between Howrah Maidan and Salt Lake Sector V and add a new Orange Line segment to enhance suburban access.
• The inauguration comes ahead of Durga Puja as the government spotlights over Rs 83,765 crore in rail works underway across West Bengal.