Watch: Kolkata Metro runs under river, creates history

The Kolkata Metro on Wednesday created history after its rake ran through a tunnel under a river.

This is the first time that this is happening in the country. The Metro rake which had only two officials and engineers on board ran the train under the Hooghly from Kolkata to Howrah on the other side of the river.

The Kolkata Metro officials said that this is a historic moment and a revolutionary step in providing modern transport system to the people of Kolkata and its suburbs.

"Kolkata Metro creates History!For the first time in India,a Metro rake ran under any river today!Regular trial runs from #HowrahMaidan to #Esplanade will start very soon. Shri P Uday Kumar Reddy,General Manager has described this run as a historic moment for the city of #Kolkata," the Metro Rail Kolkata said in a tweet.

P Uday Kumar Reddy, the Metro Rail General Manager travelled from Mahakaran station in Kolkata to Howrah Maidan station in East West Metro Corridor in the rake. Later on another rake also reached the Howrah Maidan station using the same route.

Reddy told news agency PTI that the trial runs between Howrah Maidan to Esplanade station will be conducted for the next seven months, following which regular services on the stretch will begin. He also said that the trial runs on the 4.8 km stretch of the underground station will commence soon.

In just 45 seconds:

The Metro is expected to cover the 520-metre stretch under the Hooghly river in just 45 seconds. An official said that this tunnel under the river is 32 metres below the water surface level.

The East West Metro corridor which connects the Howrah Maidan and Sector V, the Information Technology hub in Salt Lake is partially operational, between Sealdah and Sector V stations.

Delay:

The completion of the full project has been delayed owing to accidents in the Bowbazar area of central Kolkata. A tunnel boring machine had hit an aquifer on August 31 2019 leading to severe ground subsidence and the collapse of a number of buildings in Bowbazar.

Several houses were once again damaged in May 2022, due to ground subsidence caused by water seepage during work for joining the tunnels coming from the Sealdah side in the east and the Esplanade side on the western side.

The water seepage caused cracks in 12 buildings at Madan Dutta Lane in Bowbazar in October 2022. This was the last accident that affected the completion of the project.