Kolkata Metro Timings During Durga Puja 2026

The special Puja train schedule of the Kolkata Metro for 2026 is yet to be released officially as of the first week of September. Puja specials are usually announced 1-2 weeks before Puja. This is the verified timetable from 2025 (the last year it was implemented). It is a kind of information , so you can plan as a result and keep in mind that the exact 2026 time details need to be verified closer to the day.  The Blue Line and Green Line have a tradition of running through the night, roughly from 1 PM to 4 AM, and this practice was interrupted only during the years of. Two things that will puzzle people: the Purple Line is not provided all-night facility, and the Orange Line has zero trains running all the nights of puja week in 2025.

Night-Long Metro Service: Which Days & Lines

Based on the confirmed 2025 special schedule (Metro Railway, Kolkata), mapped to 2026’s equivalent Puja days:

2026 date	Tithi	Blue Line hours	Green Line hours
16 Oct (Fri)	Panchami	~8 AM–11 PM	~7:30 AM– 11:16 PM
17 Oct (Sat)	Shashthi	~9 AM–11 PM	Extended, slightly reduced frequency
18 Oct (Sun)	Saptami	1 PM–4 AM (all night)	Extended late-night service
19 Oct (Mon)	Ashtami	1 PM–4 AM (all night)	Extended late-night service
20 Oct (Tue)	Navami	1 PM–4 AM (all night)	Extended late-night service
21 Oct (Wed)	Dashami	~1 PM–10 PM (reduced)	Reduced hours

The data comes from the metro railway 2025 announcement and the same practice in earlier years. Though, you should confirm the actual 2026 time of metro railway kolkata through their official site only since this table is for planning your travel not a confirmation of the metro railway kolkata running of metro.

Dashami Is Different

Warning: this mistake leads to the most ruined travel. When the metro is going to run until 4 o’clock in the morning for three nights, it naturally becomes a matter of assumption that Dashami would be of the same kind. Still, services sharply decrease, usually the last trains were running around 10 PM, i.e. about six hours earlier than during the preceding nocturnes if you are planning to stay till the night events of Dashami (immersion processions, Sindoor Khela, the final visits of the pandal), you should return before 10 PM or arrange for an alternative transport. Do not rely on the metro to save you at midnight on Dashami, it will probably still be off the road

Line-by-Line Detail

Blue Line (Dakshineswar ↔ Kavi Subhash)

The main North-South spine and the backbone of Puja travel is the 26 stations line which is the artery of Kolkata going through the central core of North and Central Kolkata. This line is the one that gets the full all-night treatment on Saptami, Navami. You need a train at night on this line as well because it is one of the main trains connecting two large cities, but be warned that due to a temporary closure of part of the track at the bottom end, a few trains will be ending at Shahid Khudiram instead of Kavi Subhash, so check your route map and if you are expecting a train going south then you should check this.

Green Line (Howrah Maidan ↔ Salt Lake Sector V)

The East, West line of the Kolkata Metro which runs underneath the river Hooghly and connects New Howrah to Salt Lake (IT) with a halt at Esplanade. During Puja, the metro extends the hours of night-service to the Blue Line and to some extent to themselves too. “Night-long” should be treated just as an approximate term and not a guarantee. If you want to know the exact schedule of the last train after Puja you should find out from the station you are using, because the timings between Howrah Maidan – Esplanade and Esplanade – Sector V could be different.

Purple Line (Joka ↔ Majerhat)

The night Puja service isn’t operated by the East-West line. In 2025 it provided a consistent day-and-night service of 25-minute frequency from about 3 pm to 10:55 pm during the entire Puja period, just a small change from a regular schedule. In such a case one would call it not more than a slight adjustment. Being both a short and sparsely ridden line, apart from not having direct coverage in the pandal zones, the metro isn’t a very practical option for pandal hopping anyway.

Orange Line (Kavi Subhash ↔ Beleghata, partial)

Not a single service was being run on the line during Puja week in 2025, it can’t be ruled out that you might think all the metro lines are special during the festival. And, this is a very short line that runs only on weekdays in regular conditions (no service at weekends). That’s why, don’t plan your Puja schedule around it unless you contact the railway department and get a confirmation about the line status for 2026 directly.

Best Metro Stations for Pandal Hopping

Station	Line	Pandal zone served
Shyambazar	Blue	North Kolkata — Bagbazar, Tala Prattoy
Sovabazar– Sutanuti	Blue	North Kolkata — Bagbazar, Kumartuli
Girish Park	Blue	North Kolkata — College Square, Kumartuli approach
Esplanade	Blue/Green	Central Kolkata — Md. Ali Park, Santosh Mitra Square
Kalighat	Blue	South Kolkata — Deshapriya Park approach
Rabindra Sarobar	Blue	South Kolkata — Ekdalia Evergreen, Singhi Park
Netaji Bhavan	Blue	South Kolkata — Suruchi Sangha, Chetla Agrani
Salt Lake Sector V	Green	Salt Lake pandal cluster

Tokens, Smart Cards & Fares

Buy a smart card at least a couple of days before Puja starts rather than right on the day. Queue at counters at major stations may become very long after pandal-hopping season begins. Besides token counters, it is common to see overwhelming scenes at most parts of the city at night when everyone’s out having fun. And, a rechargeable smart card generally offers an additional discount compared to a single token.

Ticket prices for the Blue and Green metro lines vary from approximately Rs. 5 per short ride to about Rs. 25-30 per longer ride that is cross-city. Still, since fare structures are only periodically updated with the exact structure, it’s best to check them off at a station or on the official app. Apart from cash, most stations allow UPI/QR ticketing. Also, the Metro Ride Kolkata app (also called Aamar Kolkata Metro) enables the use of mobile QR tickets through it, and Metro officials have to be encouraged using it during festivals to reduce the density of crowds at counters.

Crowd Management Rules During Puja

Puja hours are often accompanied by an expected congestion on the metro network, mostly noticeable at important metro junctions and stations adjacent to pandals. Here are some of the things that can happen during those hours:

• Entry/ exit one-way gates are implemented during the busiest times.
• In some stations, an exit-only policy is enforced for a while once the platforms are full.
• Platform holding, you might have been held at either the gate or the platform until the crowd is lighter.
• Most crowded stations will likely experience a short entry ban during the peak evening hours.

To cope with the large crowds Metro, railways generally arranges additional staff, erects “May I help you” booths and installs first-aid posts at the most frequented stations during the festival. You may regard any station broadcast or barrier command strictly as something you cannot pass by.

If You Miss the Last Metro

Night buses: although there are a few routes with extended night services during Puja nights, the coverage is not consistent.

App cabs: there should be very high prices in the time just after the last-metro has gone until late evening, Worth noting on Saptami, Navami after midnight.

Yellow taxi: you will still be able to find them along major roads, but remember to bargain or confirm that the meter is on.

Walking: this option is only a possibility when you are extremely close to the accommodation and have no problem handling late-night street crowds. A guide for pandal-hopping is provided (Brief 09), through which you can see which clusters of the pandals are realistically walking distance from nearby lodging.

The best way to avoid this problem is to have a bit of slack in your night and, for instance, leave a pandal not by 3.55 AM but at least 3 AM. This should leave you time apart from the journey back.

Suburban Rail & Bus Services During Puja

Sealdah and Howrah, the two major suburban rail terminals, typically operate special additional services during Puja to cater to the sudden influx of visitors from the districts as well as the metro which stays open late. The specifics of these special trains are disclosed by Eastern Railway almost a week before the actual festival days so that it’s better for those who are traveling in from out of town to directly reach out and get all the necessary details, rather just relying on the regular trains.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does the Kolkata Metro run all night during Durga Puja 2026?

During these nights (Saptami, Ashtami, and Navami), the last trains on the Blue and Green Lines leave stations roughly 1 PM to 4 AM. The official notice confirming 2026 hours was not released to the public by the end of September, and this is based on the verified 2025 schedule.

1. What is the last metro train time on Ashtami?

Ashtami was a night when the Metro was running until about 4 AM on the Blue and Green Lines in 2025. Get the exact 2026 timetable out only after Metro Rail releases an official notice.

1. What are the metro timings on Vijaya Dashami?

Very limited, generally the Blue Line on Dashami operates approximately between 1 PM to 10 PM, which is quite short to the earlier nights. It is not likely that the last train will happen at a very late time.

1. Which metro lines run night-long during Puja?

They are the Blue Line and Green Line. The Purple Line doesn’t have any changes, the Orange Line had completely stopped during the Puja week of 2025.

1. Can I buy a metro smart card during Durga Puja?

Metros are open during those days, but the main routes get crowded, so it is better to have your tickets and metro cards done several days ahead and not rely on the day you plan to ride your metro.

1. What is the metro fare during Durga Puja?

Regular rates apply, roughly Rs. 5 to Rs. 30 based on the distance. No confirmed change of fare during Puja has been announced. Look at the fare slabs at the station or app for the latest news.

1. Which metro station should I use for North Kolkatapandals?

Shyambazar, Sovabazar–Sutanuti, and Girish Park stations on the Blue Line cover the main North Kolkata pandal cluster, including Bagbazar and Kumartuli.

1. What time does the metro start on Saptami?

In the pattern of 2025, blue line has a special puja-day extension which starts about 1 pm after the regular starting time, about 7 am, since the new timetable emphasizes the overnight stretch from 7 pm to 1 am. Keep an eye on the official announcement for 2026.