Kolkata: Kolkata Metro created history on Wednesday when its rake passed through a tunnel under a river for the first time in the country, a senior official said here. The Metro rake, carrying only officers and engineers, ran under the Hooghly from Kolkata to Howrah on the other side of the river. The official said that this is a “revolutionary step” in the direction of providing modern transport system to the people of Kolkata and its suburbs.
Metro Railway General Manager P Udaya Kumar Reddy traveled in a rake from Kolkata’s Mahakaran station to Howrah Maidan station on the East-West Metro corridor.
Later, another rake also reached Howrah Maidan station through the same route.
Terming it as a ‘historic event’, the Metro General Manager said, “Trial run will be conducted between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade station for next five to seven months, after which regular services will start on this section.”
Kolkata Metro creates history! For the first time in India, a metro rake ran under a river today! Routine trial run #howrah ground To #esplanade Will start very soon. Shri P Udaya Kumar Reddy, General Manager described the run as a historic moment for the city #Kolkata, pic.twitter.com/sA4Kqdvf0v– Metro Rail Kolkata (@metrorailwaykol) April 12, 2023
Reddy said the trial run on the 4.8-km stretch of the underground section would begin soon.
“We want to be complete, not rush services,” he told reporters at a news conference.
Describing it as India’s deepest rail network, he said that it takes a lot of skill and hard work to build and run it.
After the commissioning of this section, Howrah Maidan will be the deepest metro station in the country – 33 meters below the surface.
The metro is expected to cover the 520-metre portion under the Hooghly river in 45 seconds, the official said, adding that the tunnel under the river is 32 meters below the water surface level.
The East-West Metro corridor connecting Howrah Maidan and information technology hub Sector V in Salt Lake is partially operational – between Sealdah and Sector V stations.
The completion of the entire project has been delayed due to accidents in the Bowbazar area of central Kolkata.
Reddy said, “We took a decision, instead of waiting for the entire route to be clear, we focused on the route which is clear now.”
The Metro Railway had earlier said that it plans to start services from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade by the end of this year, if the problem at Bowbazar between Esplanade and Sealdah stations is not resolved by then.
On August 31, 2019, a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) hit an aquifer, triggering a severe landslide and collapse of several buildings in Bowbazar.
Several houses were again damaged in May 2022, due to subsidence caused by water seepage during work to join tunnels coming from Sealdah side in the east and Esplanade side in the west.
Underground water seepage caused cracks in 12 buildings at Madan Dutta Lane in Bowbazar on October 14, 2022, which was the last casualty to affect the completion of the project.
According to a Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) official, out of the 16.6 km length of the East West Metro, the underground corridor is 10.8 km between Howrah Maidan and Phoolbagan with a tunnel passing under the Hooghly river, while the rest is the elevated corridor. . , the executing agency of the East West Metro Corridor.
Stating that the construction of the tunnel from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade faced several challenges, the Metro GM said that some emergency measures would also have to be taken to overcome them.
The tunnel passes through very congested areas along Brabourne Road in the Barabazar area, which has several century-old houses and the Metro had to shift residents to hotels during underground work there.
KMRC Managing Director HN Jaiswal said that all the staff and engineers of KMRC, under whose efforts and supervision the underwater engineering marvel has been achieved, are happy that their dream has come true.