In a first for the country, Kolkata Metro touched a milestone on Wednesday by running through the tunnel under Hooghly river. The metro rake undertook its maiden journey from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade, with only officials and engineers on board.
Terming it an historic event, Metro Railway general manager P Uday Kumar Reddy said: “Trial runs between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade station will be conducted for the next five to seven months, following which regular services on this stretch will begin.”
Here's everything you need to know about India’s first underwater train:
1.The tunnel -- the Indian version of Eurostar's London-Paris corridor -- is 13 metre below the riverbed and 33 metre below ground level.
2. It reportedly has four stations- Esplanade, Mahakaran, Howrah, and Howrah Maidan, and will take 45 seconds to cross the tunnel.
3. The 520-metre tunnel is part of the East West Metro Corridor of Kolkata -- from the IT hub of Salt Lake Sector V in the east to Howrah Maidan in the west across the river.
{{/usCountry}}3. The 520-metre tunnel is part of the East West Metro Corridor of Kolkata -- from the IT hub of Salt Lake Sector V in the east to Howrah Maidan in the west across the river.
{{/usCountry}}4. The metro route between Howrah and Sealdah cuts down the travel time to 40 minutes as against 1.5 hours by road. It will also ease congestion at both ends.
5. The construction of the tunnel from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade had to face several challenges as it passes through very congested areas along the Brabourne Road in the Burrabazar area, with several century-old houses there had to shift residents to hotels during underground work there.
6. The underground water seepage also caused cracks in 12 buildings at Madan Dutta Lane in Bowbazar, last year.
(With inputs from agencies)