Public transport in Greater Kolkata Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

Greater Kolkata has one of the most extensive public transport networks in India. The diverse modes of public transport in the region ranges from the modern rapid transit system to the old heritage tram system.

Ferries, local trains and trams are one of the oldest modes of public transport in Greater Kolkata. Before the construction of road bridges over the Hooghly River, ferries were heavily used to transport between the two banks of the river. The ferries are still used to cross the river, mainly for sightseeing and to avoid the traffic on the bridges.

The first passenger railway service in Eastern India began on 15 August 1854 on its first run between Howrah to Hooghly. The service gradually evolved into the present-day Kolkata Suburban Railway Network. The trains were used to run in steam, but they were replaced by electric multiple units (EMUs) by the 1950s–60s.

Kolkata's tram system was opened in 1872. The trams were used to run by horses and steam, but they were replaced by electric trams by 1902. The tram network had up to 37 routes in the 1960s, but it has gradually reduced to only six routes operating as of 2024. The reasons cited include financial struggles, poor maintenance, low ridership, the addition of road flyovers, expansion of metro, slow tram speed and perceptions that the trams are outdated and occupy too much road space.

Bus services in Kolkata started in 1920, which was reorganised into 6 intracity routes with a fleet of 25 buses in 1948. The bus services were used to run by three companies, namely Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC), Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) and West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation (WBSTC). The three companies were merged into West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) by 2016.

The bus network around Greater Kolkata is possibly the most exhaustive in the whole of India and it is the cheapest, though not always the most comfortable means of transport. The routes are written all over the colourful buses in Bengali and also in English. The conductors call out their destinations to everyone they are passing and all you have to do is wave at the bus anywhere and it will stop, at times causing a small queue of other cars behind it. Buses in Kolkata, Howrah and other parts of West Bengal do not have a card system. One has to buy tickets after boarding the bus. The bus tickets are simple paper tickets purchased from the bus conductor.

You can travel 20 km at around ₹10. The exact fare depends on the type of bus. There are both state-run and private buses that ply the city streets.

State-run buses in Greater Kolkata are operated by West Bengal Transport Corporation^{[dead link]} (WBTC). These buses are generally painted blue and are identified by the acronym WBTC on the front windscreen and on their body. Non-air-conditioned buses fare start from ₹10 whereas air-conditioned buses fare start from ₹25. WBTC also provides some special transport services on some occasions, like Gangasagar Mela, Durga Puja, Kolkata Book Fair and so on.

West Bengal Tourism operates a pair of double-decker tourist buses from Rabindra Sadan to Jorasanko during festive seasons. These buses are identified with blue and white shades and the roofless (Bengali: হুডখোলা, huḍkholā) upper deck. The ticket costs ₹649 per head for the upper deck and ₹499 per head for the lower deck.

Private buses are run by private operators who are affiliated with bus unions. They are of three types:

• Regular buses: Coloured blue and yellow.
• Short-distance buses (SD): Coloured blue and white.
• Minibuses: Coloured red and yellow but contains fewer seats.

The bus termini in Greater Kolkata are:

• 22.5650788.339761 Babughat Bus Terminus, ~8 Strand Rd. One of the main bus termini in Kolkata alongside Esplanade. One can find interstate buses going into Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and other cities of West Bengal. (updated Sep 2022)
• 22.7201888.486732 Barasat Bus Terminus, Champadali. (updated Sep 2022)
• 22.5853788.342363 Howrah Bus Terminus (W of the Howrah Bridge, N of Howrah station). Buses are available from Howrah and different parts of West Bengal. (updated Oct 2022)
• 22.5632588.350394 Esplanade Bus Terminus (Dharmatala Bus Stand). It has bus terminals for buses from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sikkim, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and other parts of the country. (updated Aug 2022)
• 22.585288.42085 International Bus Terminus, Karunamoyee, Sector-III, Bidhannagar. The Kolkata-Dhaka bus service operates from here. (updated Oct 2022)
• 22.5850988.283776 Kolkata Central Bus Terminus (Santragachi Bus Stand) (outside Santragachi station). (updated Oct 2022)
• 22.5653988.313027 Nabanna Bus Terminus, Andul Rd. (updated Oct 2022)

The ferry services to cross the Hooghly River from Kolkata to Howrah is very convenient to zip across both cities. The Hooghly River offers a less crowded but slow traffic medium. There are several points (popularly called ghats and jetties) on the bank of the river from where you can board several regular routes of ferry services. Operated by the West Bengal Transport Corporation^{[dead link]} (WBTC), the ferries can be fairly large launches to small improvised motorised boats. Even if you don't get any exotic manual boat like you get in Varanasi, the river transport of Greater Kolkata lets you go to several old spots near the bank in a hassle-free manner with an additional dash of the view of decadent riverfront of the cities.

Buy the ticket before you board the ferry and retain the ticket till after you have crossed to the other side and have shown it to the ticket checker near the exit gate or else you will be penalised!

Ferry ghat	Services	Connections	Other information
Ahiritola Ghat	Bagbazar–Howrah Sovabazar–Howrah	Sovabazar Ahiritola
Armenian Ghat	Howrah–Armenian Ghat	Burrabazar Howrah Bridge
Babughat	Babughat–Howrah Babughat–Ramkrishnapur	Babughat Eden Gardens
Bagbazar	Bagbazar–Howrah Fairlie Place–Bagbazar Uttarpara–Bagbazar	Bagbazar
Dakshineswar	Belur Math–Dakshineswar	Dakshineswar  1  Dakshineswar Dakshineswar
Fairlie Place	Fairlie Place–Bagbazar Fairlie Place–Chandpal Ghat Fairlie Place–Kuthi Ghat Fairlie Place–Metiabruz Fairlie Place–Uttarpara	Fairlie Place B.B.D. Bag
Howrah	Babughat–Howrah Bagbazar–Howrah Howrah–Armenian Ghat Howrah–Uttarpara Sovabazar–Howrah	Howrah Howrah Junction
Kuthi Ghat	Fairlie–Kuthi Ghat Kuthi Ghat–Belur
Outram Ghat		Babughat Eden Gardens
Prinsep Ghat		Prinsep Ghat Prinsep Ghat
Sovabazar	Bagbazar–Howrah Sovabazar–Howrah	Sovabazar Ahiritola

The oldest rail rapid transit system in India, the Kolkata Metro is the fastest, cleanest, most reliable and most efficient of all the transport Kolkata has to offer. Trains run every 5 minutes (rush hours) to 15 minutes (non-rush hours) from 6:55AM-10:30PM from Monday to Saturday and 9:50AM-10:00PM on Sunday. Fares range from ₹5-30.

The four-seat sections at each end of a coach are reserved for senior citizens and the physically challenged. The two middle seat sections, between the general seat sections on each side, are reserved for women. Smoking is also strictly prohibited on the metro premises. Violating any of these incurs a penalty.

Be aware that if you wish to exit at a station during rush hours, you will have to tackle your way through in order to get out before the opposite flow of passengers pushes you back inside. Don't be afraid of using your strength to push yourself out.

As of 2024, the lines 1, 2, 3 and 6 are operational.

Name	Status	Termini		Other information
		Operational	Proposed
North–South Metro (Blue Line)  1	Operational	Dakshineswar–Kavi Subhash (New Garia)		The oldest metro line of Kolkata.
East–West Metro (Green Line)  2	Partly operational	Howrah Maidan–Esplanade	Howrah Maidan–Teghoria	The line is divided into Howrah Maidan–Esplanade and Sealdah–Salt Lake Sector V sections. The Howrah Maidan–Esplanade section is the first underwater metro service of India.
		Sealdah–Salt Lake Sector V
Purple Line  3	Partly operational	Majerhat–Joka	Esplanade–Diamond Park
Yellow Line  4	Under construction		Noapara–Barasat
Pink Line  5	Proposed		Barrackpore–Baranagar
Orange Line  6	Partly operational	Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (Ruby)–Kavi Subhash (New Garia)	Jai Hind (Airport)–Kavi Subhash (New Garia)

Only operational stations are listed here.

Name	Location	Connections	Other information
Baranagar	Baranagar	Dunlop Baranagar Road
Belgachia	North Kolkata	Belgachia Belgachia Metro Belgachia More
Central	Central Kolkata	Central Avenue Central Metro Station Medical College School of Tropical Medicine
Chandni Chowk	Central Kolkata	Chandni Chowk Victoria House
Dakshineswar	Dakshineswar	Alambazar More Dakshineswar Dakshineswar Dakshineswar
Dum Dum	Dum Dum	Dum Dum Station Dum Dum Junction
Esplanade	Esplanade	Esplanade Esplanade
Girish Park	North Kolkata	Girish Park
Gitanjali	South Kolkata (Naktala)	Bunty Cinema Rathtala Naktala (minibus)
Jatin Das Park	South Kolkata (Hazra)	Hazra Jatin Das Park Sujata Sadan
Kalighat	South Kolkata	Rashbehari Crossing Rashbehari Gurudwara Rashbehari Crossing
Kavi Nazrul	East Kolkata (Garia Bazar)	Garia Bazar Garia No. 5 Garia No. 6 Garia Metro Garia More
Kavi Subhash	East Kolkata (New Garia)	New Garia New Garia
Mahanayak Uttam Kumar	South Kolkata (Tollygunge)	Tollygunge Tollygunge Tram Depot Tollygunge
Mahatma Gandhi Road	North Kolkata	Mahajati Sadan Muhammad Ali Park Ram Mandir
Maidan	Maidan	Maidan
Masterda Surya Sen	South Kolkata (Bansdroni)	Bansdroni
Netaji	South Kolkata (Kudghat)	Kudghat
Netaji Bhavan	South Kolkata (Bhowanipore)	Netaji Bhawan Jadu Babur Bazar
Noapara	Baranagar	34C Gharui Paschimpara Health More
Park Street	Central Kolkata	Park Street
Rabindra Sadan (Exide)	South Kolkata	Chowringhee Road-Calcutta Club Exide More Rabindra Sadan
Rabindra Sarobar	South Kolkata (Charu Market)	Bhabani Cinema Rabindra Sarobar Charu Market Tollygunge
Shahid Khudiram	East Kolkata (Dhalai Bridge)	Dhalai Bridge Khudiram Metro
Shobhabazar Sutanuti	North Kolkata	Shobhabazar Metro Jaipuria College
Shyambazar	North Kolkata	Shyambazar Shyambazar 5 Point Shyambazar Metro Shyambazar

Name	Location	Connections	Other information
Bengal Chemical	East Kolkata	Bengal Chemical Mani Square
Central Park	East Kolkata	Bikash Bhawan Sech Bhawan
City Center	East Kolkata	City Center
Esplanade	Esplanade	Esplanade Esplanade
Howrah	Howrah	Howrah Station Howrah
Howrah Maidan	Howrah	Howrah Maidan
Karunamoyee	East Kolkata	2	Karunamoyee
Phoolbagan	East Kolkata	Phoolbagan Phoolbagan (minibus)
Salt Lake Sector V	East Kolkata	Salt Lake Wipro
Salt Lake Stadium	East Kolkata	Apollo Hospital Kadapara Swabhumi
Sealdah	North Kolkata	Sealdah NRS Sealdah

Name	Location	Connections	Other information
Behala Bazar	South Kolkata	Behala Bazar
Behala Chowrasta	South Kolkata	Behala Chowrasta
Joka	South Kolkata	3	Diamond Park Joka
Mahakaran	Esplanade (B. B. D. Bagh)	B. B. D. Bagh B. B. D. Bagh
Majerhat	South Kolkata	Majerhat
Sakherbazar	South Kolkata	Kadamtala Behala Sakherbazar (minibus) Silpara Thakurpukur
Taratala	South Kolkata	Ajanta Cinema Taratala
Thakurpukur	South Kolkata	Thakurpukur Bazar Thakurpukur Police Station

Name	Location	Connections	Other information
Hemanta Mukhopadhyay	East Kolkata (Ruby)	Ruby
Jyotirindra Nandi	East Kolkata (Mukundapur)	Metro Cash & Carry
Kavi Subhash	East Kolkata (New Garia)	New Garia New Garia
Kavi Sukanta	East Kolkata (Kalikapur)	E.M. Bypass (Kalikapur)
Satyajit Ray	East Kolkata (Ajay Nagar)	Highland Park

See also: Rail travel in India

Greater Kolkata is part of both the Eastern Railway (ER) and the South Eastern Railway (SER) zone. The region is served by both passenger and suburban railway services. The Kolkata Suburban Railway, commonly referred to as "local trains", has the largest suburban railway network in India. The suburban trains are identified by its white-pink livery, and depending on the route, such trains can be extremely crowded. It is less expensive to travel around by train as compared to private taxis.

There are five lines under the suburban railway network, including the Chord Link Line, Circular Railway, Eastern Line, Sealdah South and the South Eastern Line.

The Kolkata Circular Railway  Circular  is a railway loop line around Kolkata, which begins and terminates at Dum Dum Junction railway station. The line mostly runs along the Hooghly River and through the city centre. The Circular Railway offers direct interchange points with the North–South Metro at Dum Dum and Tollygunge railway stations, while connecting multiple tourist places and ghats, for example Prinsep Ghat and the Eden Gardens. It provides a scenic view for daily commuters and visitors.

From Dum Dum Junction to Tala, the line is double-tracked, while from Tala to Majerhat, the line is single-tracked. Running by the side of the Hooghly River from Tala to Majerhat, it joins and runs parallel to the Sealdah South tracks after Majerhat and elevates at Park Circus in order to bypass Sealdah (which is a terminal station). After bypassing Sealdah, it rejoins the mainline at Bidhannagar Road and again terminating at Dum Dum Junction.

Station name	Station code	Location	Connections	Other information
Ballygunge	BLN	South Kolkata	Ballygunge Station Ballygunge Station
B.B.D Bag	BBDB	Esplanade	Fairlie Place Fairlie Place Ghat
Dum Dum Junction	DDJ	Dum Dum	Dum Dum Station  1  Dum Dum
Eden Gardens	EDG	Maidan	Babughat Babughat Outram Ghat
Kolkata	KOAA	North Kolkata	Kolkata Station
Majerhat	MJT	Southwest Kolkata
Prinsep Ghat	PPGT	Maidan	Prinsep Ghat Prinsep Ghat
Tala	TALA	North Kolkata
Tollygunge	TLG	South Kolkata	Bhabani Cinema Rabindra Sarobar Charu Market  1  Rabindra Sarobar

Kolkata has the only tram service in all of India and the oldest surviving electric tram network in Asia. Though decommissioned in some parts of the city, electric trams are still one of the means of travelling between a few places within the city. They move slowly on the laid tracks in traffic-jammed streets, but they are environment-friendly (no emissions on the street, only at the source of energy generation). The trams were operated by the Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) until 2016 when the company merged into the West Bengal Transport Corporation^{[dead link]} (WBTC).

The tram network had up to 37 routes in the 1960s, but it has gradually reduced to only six routes operating as of 2024:

• Route No. 5: Esplanade–Shyambazar
• Route No. 11: Howrah Bridge–Shyambazar
• Route No. 18: Howrah Bridge–Bidhannagar
• Route No. 24/29: Ballygunge Jn–Tollygunge
• Route No. 25: Esplanade–Gariahat

Water-logging, caused by heavy rains during the summer monsoon, often interrupt transport networks. Keep yourself updated with the latest weather news before venturing out to use public transport.