The Kolkata Metro rake which had only officials and engineers on board ran under the Hooghly from Kolkata to Howrah on the other side of the river.
Kolkata: Kolkata Metro on Wednesday created history as its rake ran through a tunnel under a river for the first time in the country. The Metro rake which had only officials and engineers on board ran under the Hooghly from Kolkata to Howrah on the other side of the river.
Historic moment for Kolkata Metro
Calling it a ‘historic moment’, the Kolkata Metro officials said this is a “revolutionary step” in providing a modern transport system to the people of Kolkata and its suburbs.
Metro Railway General Manager P Uday Kumar Reddy travelled from Mahakaran station in Kolkata to Howrah Maidan station of the East West Metro corridor in the rake. Later, another rake also reached Howrah Maidan station by the same route.
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When will regular services start?
Kolkata Metro general manager told news agency PTI that the trial runs between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade station will be conducted for the next seven months, following which regular services on this stretch will begin.
He further added that the trial runs on the 4.8 km stretch of the underground section will commence soon.
After this stretch becomes operational, Howrah Maidan will be the deepest Metro station – 33-metre below the surface – of the country.
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520-metre stretch to be covered in 45 seconds
The Metro is expected to cover the 520-metre stretch under the river Hooghly in 45 seconds, the official said and added that this tunnel under the river is 32 metres below the water surface level.
The East West Metro corridor connecting Howrah Maidan and Sector V, the Information Technology hub in Salt Lake, is partially operational – between Sealdah and Sector V stations.
Why completion of project delayed?
Completion of the total project has been delayed owing to accidents in Bowbazar area of central Kolkata. On August 31, 2019, a tunnel boring machine (TBM) had hit an aquifer leading to severe ground subsidence and the collapse of a number of buildings at Bowbazar.
Several houses were damaged again in May 2022, owing to ground subsidence caused by water seepage during work for joining the tunnels coming from the Sealdah side in the east and the Esplanade side on the western side.
The underground water seepage caused cracks in 12 buildings at Madan Dutta Lane in Bowbazar on October 14, 2022, the last accident there to affect completion of the project.
