Bengal: India's first underwater metro begins trial run in Hooghly
Kolkata Metro achieved a historic milestone as its rake ran through a tunnel under a river on Wednesday for the first time. Reportedly, the rake only had engineers and officials on board and ran under the Hooghly from Kolkata to Howrah on the other side of the river. Per officials, regular trial runs from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade in West Bengal will begin soon.
Why does this story matter?
To recall, Kolkata also created history in 1984 when it became the first city in India where metro services were started. Nearly 39 years later, Howrah Maidan, located nearly 33 meters below the surface, will become the country's deepest metro station when the stretch turns operational. The metro is expected to cover the 520-meter stretch under the Hooghly in just 45 seconds.
Know about KMRCL's historic journey
General Manager of Metro Railway, P Uday Kumar Reddy, and a few other senior officials from the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) and the Metro Railway boarded rake number 612 from Mahakaran station, crossing the Hooghly River at around 11:55am. Later, another rake reached the Howrah Maidan Station taking the same route.
Details on KMRCL's statement after historic feat
"Shri H. N. Jaiswal Additional General Manager, Metro Railway and MD, KMRCL as well as other senior officers of Metro Railway and KMRCL, accompanied him during this journey," KMRCL stated. "This is a historic moment for the city of Kolkata. It will take seven months to complete the trails and after that we will be able to start regular services," Reddy added.
Here's how Metro Railway general manager reacted
Labeling it a "historic" feat, Reddy stated that the trial runs on the 4.8km Howrah-Esplanade underground section will commence soon. According to reports, the stretch is part of the East-West Metro corridor that connects Howrah Maidan and Sector V in Salt Lake, Kolkata's IT hub. The project will connect the Kolkata Metro's North-South line's Esplanade Station with Indian railway stations in Howrah and Sealdah.
Visuals of Howrah Maidan to Esplanade trial run
Historic moment for Metro Railway, says CPRO Mitra
Meanwhile, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Metro Rail, Kausik Mitra, stated, "This is a historic moment for Metro Railway as after overcoming many hurdles, we have succeeded in running rakes beneath the Hooghly river." "This is indeed a special new year gift from the Indian Railways to the people of Bengal," Mitra was quoted as saying by the news outlet Mint.
Know about Bengal's East West Metro line
Notably, the process of laying the tunnel was fully completed back in 2017. Currently, approximately 9.1 km of the East West Metro line to Sealdah from Salt Lake Sector V is operational. Furthermore, the services of East West Metro Railway started in different phases, with the first phase going online in February 2020 and the latest one in July 2022.
