Updated, March 5, 2024. 7.55 PM.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India’s first underwater metro rail service in Kolkata tomorrow. The new metro line, called the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section, will be the country’s first transportation tunnel beneath a major river. It passes beneath the River Hooghly, which separates Kolkata and Howrah cities on its east and west banks.
The Howrah metro station, part of this new line, will hold the distinction of being India’s deepest metro station. The Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch covers 4.8 kilometers and constitutes the second section of the East-West Metro corridor, connecting Howrah Maidan to the IT hub Salt Lake Sector -5.
Of the total 16.6 kilometers of the East-West Metro, 10.8 kilometers consist of an underground corridor between Howrah Maidan and Phoolbagan, including the tunnel beneath the Hooghly River, while the remaining stretch is elevated.
The project has been dubbed as a marvel, with trains traveling approximately 16 meters below the river’s surface. The metro authorities anticipate a daily ridership of seven lakh people.