Are you ready to ride in India's first underwater metro tunnel below Ganga river bed?

Be prepared to experience the first ever underwater metro tunnel in Kolkata.

The underwater tunnel of East-West Metro Corridor Project in Kolkata, built below the Ganga river bed, is the first of its kind in the country.

About the project

The tunnel is being built by South African company Afcons Transtonnelstroy between Howrah Maidan and the proposed Mahakaran metro station near Writers Building - a heritage site - in Kolkata. The length of the section from Howrah Maidan to the Ganga bank will be 1.7 km.

Photo credit: tunnelsforin

How the tunnel is being built?

The tunnel boring machine, used in the excavation work, will now go beyond the slab number 840 to dig up earth under the river bed and finally reach the east bank - that is the city.

Photo credit: goldenbookofrecords (The resund Bridge from Denmark and Sweden)

How many stations?

There will be eight stations, two of which are on underground. All the four stations in Phase II (Sealdah-Howrah) will be underground.

Photo credit: dimscale.blogspot

Cost of the project

The initial project cost for the Phase I - Phase II stretch had shot up due to realignment of the tunnelling, covering an additional 2 km and cost for elevation. The costs had gone up from Rs 250 crore in 2011-12 under the UPA rule to Rs 328.81 crore in 2015-16 and now Rs 1937 crore.

Pic credit: Union minister Babul Supriyo

OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)