Kolkata completes inaugural test of India’s 1st underwater metro line, journeys 32m beneath Hooghly river

Once completed, the metro's East-West corridor will have 12 stations and connect suburban Kolkata to city's outskirts. Its Howrah station will be India's deepest at 33m below surface.

Inaugural run of Kolkata's underground metro | Photo: Metro Railway Kolkata

Kolkata: Kolkata made history Wednesday with India’s first underwater metro line completing its inaugural test run in the city.

Yesterday at 11:55 am, rake number MR-612 of the Metro Railway, Kolkata, successfully traveled from Esplanade to Howrah Maidan under the Hooghly River, covering approximately 520 metres underwater in just 45 seconds. The underwater tunnel through which the trains will pass is located at a depth of 32 metres.

“This is a historic moment for Metro Railway since it is after overcoming many hurdles that we have succeeded to run rakes beneath the Hooghly River,” said Kaushik Mitra, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Metro Railway, Kolkata. “This is a revolutionary step in providing a modern transport system to the people of Kolkata and suburbs. This is indeed a special new year (Poila Baishakh) gift from Indian Railways for the people of Bengal.”

In 1984, Kolkata became the first city in the country to get metro railway and now it has achieved another milestone.

Once the project is completed, Howrah will be the country’s deepest Metro station at 33 metres below surface. Over the next seven months, trial runs will be conducted before passenger service begins.

There will be 12 metro stations along the East-West corridor route — Howrah Maidan, Howrah Station, BBD Bagh (Mahakaran), Esplanade, Sealdah, Phoolbagan, Salt Lake Stadium, Bengal Chemical, City Centre, Central Park, Karunomoyee and Salt Lake Sector 5.

Inaugural run of Kolkata’s underground metro | Photo: Metro Railway Kolkata

The corridor will connect suburban Kolkata to Howrah on the outskirts of the city, reducing travel time drastically.

On Wednesday, P. Uday Kumar Reddy, General Manager, Metro Railway, travelled on Rake No MR-612’s inaugural run to witness this historic moment. He was accompanied by H.N. Jaiswal, Additional General Manager of Metro Railway and Managing Director of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRCL), as well as other senior officers of Metro Railway and KMRCL. A puja was conducted at Howrah station once the rake arrived.

(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)