The wheels of Kolkata metro began running from 8 am on Monday, after a long gap of over five months, a senior official told news agency PTI. In its first two hours, around 3,000 people took the trains to travel, PTI reported.

“Services have resumed at 8 am and around 3,000 people have commuted in the first two hours,” Kolkata Metro Railway General Manager Manoj Joshi told PTI.

The authorities, however, made a soft launch on Sunday when it ran the trains for NEET candidates.

Also read: Kolkata Metro to resume services on Sep 14, special trains for NEET exam on Sep 13

The operations were paused since the COVID-19-induced lockdown was imposed in India, amid rising cases.

“The last trains from the originating stations on both sides will commence their journey at 7 pm and complete it by 8 pm,” Joshi told PTI.

He added that all safety protocols, including social distancing are being followed.

According to PTI, Metro Railway will run 55 pairs of trains on the Noapara-Kavi Subhash line from Monday to Saturday every week. On Sundays, operations will remain shut for sanitisation of rakes and stations.