On March 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kolkata, West Bengal, and officially opened India’s first underwater metro tunnel. Kolkata traffic will be lessened by the tunnel, which is hailed as an “engineering marvel.”.
• A portion of the Kolkata Metro extension project, which would connect Salt Lake to Howrah via Kolkata and pass beneath the Hooghly River, includes the underwater tunnel.
The East-West Metro route includes the underwater metro. The newly constructed tunnel’s lowest point is 26 meters below the river’s surface. The railroad will run 16 meters below the river’s surface.
• The plan calls for the first-ever metro train service beneath a river in India.
• The tunnel was reportedly constructed in collaboration with Russian business Transtonnelstroy, India, and construction giant Afcons. The Hooghly tunnels were excavated by Afcons in April 2017 and finished in July 2017.
• Nearly 10.8 kilometers of the line will be underground, and 5.75 kilometers will be on elevated viaducts, according to the ministry of railroads.
• * According to the ministry, the initiative will significantly reduce Kolkata’s traffic congestion.
• * Kolkata Metro tested two six-coach metro trains beneath the Hooghly River’s underwater tunnel last year in a historic first.
• The project, which was originally scheduled to be finished by December 2021, has experienced significant delays because of mishaps that occurred during tunneling operations at Bowbazar in central Kolkata.