Kolkata Metro – the country’s first metro railway system run by the Indian Railways – has seen losses widen to ₹465.11 crore in FY-24, up around 10 per cent y-o-y. Nearly 56 km of under-construction metro railway corridors in and around Kolkata are stuck or work has slowed down because of land acquisition issues, removal of encroachments, or for want of “permission from local authorities”, as per an internal assessment of the Railways.
In fact, losses stood at ₹424.24 crore in FY23 and at ₹487.37 crore for FY22, as per information provided by the Ministry to the Rajya Sabha.
In FY24, total revenue receipts stood at ₹341.17 crore, less than half of the revenue expenditure for the fiscal which stood at ₹806.28 crore.
According to a ministry official, revenue receipts saw a 10 per cent y-o-y growth in FY24, but compared to FY22 – when earnings stood at ₹146.68 crore – it grew 130 per cent-odd. On the other hand, expenditure for the period under-review saw a similar 10 per cent y-o-y increase in FY-24, and 27-odd per cent when compared to FY-22. In FY-22, expenses for Kolkata Metro stood at ₹634.05 crore.
In October 1984, India saw its first metro system become operational in Kolkata. A stretch of 3.4 km was opened with five stations on the line.
Incidentally, around ₹29,000 crore has been invested in the Kolkata Metro for 66 route kms. This include ₹5,981 crore being spent towards construction in-and-around the city over a 42 year period between 1972 and 2014 covering a 28 km stretch; while another ₹23.050 crore has been spent over a 10 year period – 2014 and 2024 – covering 38 km.
“Presently, metro corridors of 59 km are under construction in and around Kolkata. Once the lines joining Blue Line are completed they are likely to further boost the ridership….” Ashwini Vaishnaw, Railway Minister had metioned in the Parliament.
‘Slow Progress’ of Under-construction corridors
However, work on the under-construction portion is progressing “slowly”, officials told businessline, primarily on account of delay in obtaining permissions, removal of encroachments, and so on.
For instance along a New Garia – Dum Dum stretch – that connects the South East part of Kolkata’s added areas to the northern fringes of the city – covering 32 kms, work is completed along 10-odd km, and work has slowed down on 22-odd km (that includes connectivity with the airport) because of “delay in traffic diversion permission from the State authorities”.
Similarly, in Joka – Esplanade stretch of 14 kms, that connects the southern-most fringes of Kolkata to the central business district, just 7.74 km of work has been completed. “Work is progressing slowly due to land acquisition and utility diversion issues,” the Railway report mentions.
In the Noapara – Barasat line (covering 18 km), which connects two suburbs near Kolkata, just 3-odd km of work has been completed. For nearly 15 km odd, “work is held up due to land acquisition and encroachment issues”, the report adds.
In the Baranagar – Barackpore corridor (which connect northern fringes of Kolkata to another northern suburb), of 12.5 km, work is held up due to pending utility shifting work.
