India is preparing to conduct the inaugural trial of its underwater metro train in Kolkata. The trial will take place in tunnels that have been constructed beneath the Hooghly River in West Bengal. Specifically, two tunnels have been built between the East-West Metro Corridor, which runs from Sector V in Salt Lake to Howrah Maidan. The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) had planned to conduct a trial run on one section of this route on a Sunday, but this was postponed without explanation. The corporation has stated that the trial will be rescheduled. During the trial, a metro train with two to six coaches will travel the 4.8-kilometer stretch between Esplanade and Howrah Maidan.
The Kolkata metro was inaugurated in 1984, making it the first metro in the country. The metro in New Delhi did not begin running until 2002, long after the Kolkata metro had been established. The metro train will travel at a speed of 80 km/h through tunnels carved out of the Hooghly riverbed. It will take less than a minute to cover the distance under the river.
The 16-kilometer-long rail route has underground sections spanning 10.8 kilometers, including the downstream section of the river. The metro train will be 13 meters below the bed of the Hooghly River, and the Howrah metro station will be 33 meters deep, making it the country’s deepest station. The tunnel will have exits for emergencies such as earthquakes.
The cost of constructing an underwater tunnel in the Hooghly River is approximately 157 crores per kilometer. According to reports, the commencement of commercial service will depend on the success of the trials. The KMRC previously stated that the East-West Metro Corridor project, India’s first underwater metro service, is expected to be completed by December 2023.
Shailesh Kumar, KMRC General Manager Civil, stated, ‘The ongoing underwater tunnel project is likely to be completed by December 2023. Some rehabilitation works are in process, and other issues are delaying the completion of the underwater metro project.’ The East-West corridor of the Kolkata Metro is 15 kilometers long, stretching from Howrah to Salt Lake City Stadium.
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