Public transport in Greater Kolkata

Kolkata and its suburbs in South Bengal have one of the most extensive public transport networks in India. The diverse modes of public transport in the Greater Kolkata region ranges from the modern rapid transit system to the old heritage tram system.

22°33′22″N 88°21′18″E

Public transport map of Kolkata

Ferries, local trains and trams are one of the oldest modes of public transport in 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low ridership, the addition of road flyovers, expansion of metro, slow tram speed and perceptions that the trams are outdated and occupy too much road space.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.

Official websites:

• Metro Railway, Kolkata (MTP) — it's in Hindi by default. You have to manually switch the language to English.
• Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRC) — better UI than MTP, but for the Green Line (East–West Metro).
• West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC)
• Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC)

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 and drinking are also 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 June 2026, the following lines are operational:

• Blue Line (North–South Metro)  1 : Dakshineswar–Kavi Subhash
• Green Line (East–West Metro)  2 : Salt Lake Sector V–Howrah Maidan
• Purple Line  3 : Joka–Majerhat
• Yellow Line  4 : Noapara–Jai Hind
• Orange Line  6 : Kavi Subhash–Beleghata

As of 2026, there are 58 metro stations, of which the three are metro junctions: 22.56444488.3516671 Esplanade  1  2  , 22.47194488.3980562 Kavi Subhash  1  6  and 22.63972288.3938893 Noapara  1  4  .

Name	Code	Connectivity
Dakshineshwar	KDSW	Dakshineswar  CL
Baranagar	KBAR	Baranagar Road  CL  Dunlop
Noapara	KNAP
Dum Dum	KDMI	Dum Dum Junction  CL  SDAH
Belgachia	KBEL
Shyambazar	KSHY	Shyambazar  CTC
Shobhabazar	KSHO	Sovabazar
Girish Park	KGPK	Girish Park
Mahatma Gandhi Road	KMHR	Mahajati Sadan
Central	KCEN	Central Avenue
Chandni Chowk	KCWC	Chandni Chowk
Esplanade	KESP	Esplanade  CTC
Park Street	KPSK	Park Street
Maidan	KMDI	Maidan
Rabindra Sadan	KRSD	Rabindra Sadan
Netaji Bhavan	KNBN	Netaji Bhawan
Jatin Das Park	KJPK	Jatin Das Park
Kali Ghat	KKHG	Rashbehari Crossing  CTC
Rabindra Sarobar	KRSB	Tollygunge  KCR  SDAH South  Rabindra Sarobar  Charu Market  CTC
Mahanayak Uttam Kumar	KMUK	Tollygunge  CTC
Netaji	KNTJ	Kudghat
Masterda Surya Sen	KMSN	Bansdroni
Gitanjali	KGTN
Kavi Nazrul	KKNZ	Garia
Shahid Khudiram	KSKD	Khudiram
Kavi Subhash	KKVS	New Garia  SDAH South

Name	Code	Connectivity
Salt Lake Sector-V	SVSA	Salt Lake Sector V
Karunamoyee	KESA	Karunamoyee
Central Park	CPSA	Central Park
City Centre	CCSC	City Centre
Bengal Chemical	BCSD	Bengal Chemical
Salt Lake Stadium	SSSA	Salt Lake Stadium
Phoolbagan	PBGB	Phoolbagan
Sealdah	SDHM	Sealdah  SDAH
Esplanade	KESP	Esplanade  CTC
Mahakaran	MKNA	B.B.D. Bagh
Howrah	HWHM	Howrah  HWH  SER
Howrah Maidan	HWMM	Howrah Maidan

Name	Code	Connectivity
Joka	KJKA	Joka
Thakurpukur	KTKP	Thakurpukur Bazar
Sakher Bazar	KSKB	Thakurpukur
Behala Chowrasta	KBCR	Behala Chowrasta
Behala Bazar	KBBR	Behala Tram Depot
Taratala	KTRT	Ajanta Cinema
Majerhat	KMJH	Majerhat  KCR  SDAH South

Name	Code	Connectivity
Noapara	KNAP
Dum Dum Cantonment	KDCM	Dum Dum Cantonment  SDAH
Jessore Road	KJRO	HMV Market
Jai Hind	KJHD	Airport

Name	Code	Connectivity
Kavi Subhash	KKVS	New Garia  SDAH South
Satyajt Ray	KSJR	Highland Park
Jyotirindra Nandi	KJNN	Metro Cash & Carry
Kavi Sukanta	KKSK	Kalikapur
Hemanta Mukhopadhyay	KHMD	Ruby
VIP Bazar	KVIB	VIP Bazar
Ritwik Ghatak	KRWG
Barun Sengupta	KBST	Science City
Beleghata	KBGA	Metropolitan

The bus network around 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.

The West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) operate state-run buses in Kolkata and suburbs. These buses are generally painted blue or saffron, and are identified by the acronym WBTC on the front windscreen and on their body.

The WBTC was formed in 2016 as the merger of three transport companies: the Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC), the Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) and the West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation (WBSTC). Despite the merger, the three companies continue operate as separate wings under the WBTC umbrella.

The WBTC operates three kinds of buses:

• Non-AC buses (AS, C, D, E, M, S, ST and T series): Fare starts from ₹10.
• AC buses (AC, ACT, BE, EB and VS series): Fare starts from ₹25.
• Special buses: Special transport services for events like Gangasagar Mela, Durga Puja, Kolkata Book Fair and so on.

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

• Regular buses: Coloured blue and yellow. Most regular buses are of 1–99 or 201–262 series, as well as various numberless buses. In addition, there are three bus series by locale:
  • K series for Kolkata
  • KB series for adjacent suburbs
  • DN series for 24 Parganas
• Short-distance buses (SD series): Coloured blue and white.
• Minibuses: Coloured red and yellow but contains fewer seats. There are three minibus series by locale:
  • S101–S190 series for Kolkata
  • 1–45 series for Howrah
  • M series for South 24 Parganas

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.

The major bus terminals in Greater Kolkata are:

• 22.5630388.349971 Esplanade Bus Terminus. It has bus terminals for buses from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sikkim, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and other parts of the country.  (updated Jun 2026)
• 22.7201888.486732 Barasat Champadali Bus Terminus, Champadali, Barasat.  (updated Sep 2022)
• 22.5853788.342363 Howrah Bus Terminus (W of the Howrah Bridge, N of Howrah Station). Buses are available from Kolkata, Howrah and suburbs. Not served by long-distance buses.  (updated Oct 2022)
• 22.585288.42084 International Bus Terminus, Karunamoyee, Sector III, Salt Lake. The Kolkata-Dhaka bus service operates from here.  (updated Oct 2022)
• 22.5850988.283775 Kolkata Central Bus Terminus (Santragachi Bus Stand) (outside Santragachi station).  (updated Oct 2022)

In addition, there are CSTC, CTC and WBSTC bus stands operated by the respective WBTC wings.

Greater Kolkata is part of both the Eastern Railway (ER) and South Eastern Railway (SER) zones. 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. Often called Bengal's "moving restaurants", 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  KCR  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.

Name	Code	Connectivity
Dum Dum Junction	DDJ	Dum Dum  1  Dum Dum Station
Patipukur	PTKR	Patipukur
Kolkata	KOAA	Kolkata Station
Tala	TALA
Bagbazar	BBR	Bagbazar
Sovabazar Ahiritola	SOLA	Ahiritola  Sovabazar
Barra Bazar	BZB
B.B.D Bag	BBDB	Fairlie Place
Edengarden	EDG	Babughat  Outram Ghat
Prinsep Ghat	PPGT	Prinsep Ghat
Khiddirpur	KIRP
Remount Road	RMTR
Majerhat	MJT	Majerhat  3
New Alipore (Calcutta)	NACC
Tollygunge	TLG	Rabindra Sarobar  1  Charu market  CTC
Lake Gardens	LKF
Ballygunge Junction	BLN	Ballygunge Station  CTC
Park Circus	PQS
Sir Gurudas Banerjee Halt	SGBA
Bidhannagar Road	BNXR	Ultadanga

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 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 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 terminal	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

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 environmentally friendly (no emissions on the street, only at the source of energy generation). The trams are operated by the Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC), a wing of the WBTC.

The tram network had up to 37 routes in the 1960s, but it has gradually reduced to only two routes operating as of 2026:

• 5: Esplanade–Shyambazar
• 25: Esplanade–Gariahat

Since tram services are more sensitive to Kolkata's weather conditions, stay up-to-date on whether the services are active or not, and consider alternative transport options.

Since 2026, there has been plans by the West Bengal Government to revive the tram system by procuring tramcars from abroad.

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.