India's first underwater metro, part of the East-West Metro Corridor project in Kolkata, completed its first successful run on Wednesday, April 12. The first rake crossed the river Hooghly from Mahakaran to Howrah Maidan Station, reaching a depth of 33 meters below the surface, making it the deepest metro station in the country.
The 4.8 km underground section from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade will begin trial runs shortly, with regular services expected to begin in 2023, stated a report.
Historic event celebrated by Metro Railway officials
P Uday Kumar Reddy, General Manager of the Metro Railway, traveled on the first rake to witness the historic event. He announced that trial runs from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade would be conducted for the next seven months, after which regular services on this stretch would begin, the report added.
Reddy stated that commercial services on the stretch could be expected to begin in 2023. The underwater stretch is expected to cover the 520-meter distance in just 45 seconds, with the tunnel reaching a depth of 32 meters below the water level.
Completion of India's first underwater metro delayed
The East-West Metro Corridor in Kolkata will cover a distance of 16 km from Sector V to Howrah Maidan station, running below the river Hooghly.
Originally scheduled for Sunday, April 9, the first run of the underwater metro was delayed and finally held on Wednesday, April 12. The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) had earlier announced that the East-West Metro Corridor project would be completed by December 2023.
