Infrastructure
India's First Under-River Metro Tunnel: PM Modi To Inaugurate Kolkata’s Underwater Metro Service On 6 March
Swarajya Staff
Mar 05, 2024, 12:54 PM | Updated 12:54 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
On 6 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 4.8-km-long section of the Kolkata Metro from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade, also featuring India’s first under-river metro tunnel.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay and Taratala-Majerhat sections of the Kolkata metro on the same day, reports Mint.
The under-river tunnel is built beneath the Hooghly River to link the Kolkata Metro's East-West Metro corridor, stretching 16.6 km to connect Howrah Maidan to Sector V, with a total project cost of Rs 8,600 crore.
The underground section of the corridor spans 10.8 km, including the vital 520-m underwater tunnel, and was executed by the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation.
The commuters will move quickly through the water, covering the 520 m in less than a minute.
Looking at the full journey of this stretch, trains will zoom through the river tunnels at speeds of 80 km/h, making the trip from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade in just 6 minutes.
In 2017, the tunnelling project under the Hooghly River bed was successfully finished by construction major, Afcons Infrastructure. The underwater section consists of twin tunnels made of 1.4-m-wide concrete rings. The tunnels include hydrophilic gaskets to further prevent water from getting inside.
The trains will operate 26 m below ground level at the tunnel's bottom, which is 36 m from the water's surface. Remarkably, the Howrah Metro station is poised to become the deepest metro station in India.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.