Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (August 22, 2025) flagged off metro services in three different routes in Kolkata, including the much-awaited connections to the Netaji Subhash International Airport and in the under-river metro line.

The inauguration programme took place at the Jessore Road Metro Station, from where the Prime Minister undertook a round-trip metro ride to the Jai Hind Bimanbandar (Airport) station.

The programme was attended by West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, State President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Samik Bhattacharya, and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar among other dignitaries.

With the commencement of new services today, a net total of 13.61 kilometres of metro connectivity was added across Green, Orange, and Yellow metro routes in Kolkata.

The metro links that the Prime Minister flagged off today include the much awaited connection in the Green Line between Esplanade and Sealdah stations. This is set to cut down travel time between the city’s two major railway stations, Howrah and Sealdah, from 40 minutes to 11 minutes.

The metro connection from Noapara to Jai Hind Bimanbandar metro is expected to boost connectivity to the airport, while the Beleghata to Hemanta Mukhopadhyay stretch can help passengers access the city’s information technology )IT) hubs.

Historically, Kolkata was the first city to have metro services in the country, since 1984.