In a first for India, Kolkata Metro makes successful under-river run

Kolkata Metro scripted history on Wednesday with the train making a successful run through a tunnel under a river for the first time in India, according to senior officials.

The Metro rake which had only officials and engineers on board ran under the Hooghly from Kolkata to Howrah on the other side of the river.

The tunnel is 13 metre below the riverbed and 33 metre below ground level. It has four stations- Esplanade, Mahakaran, Howrah, and Howrah Maidan.

Metro Railway General Manager P Uday Kumar Reddy travelled from Mahakaran station in Kolkata to Howrah Maidan station of the East West Metro corridor in the rake.

Later, another rake also reached Howrah Maidan station by the same route.

Terming it a ‘historic event’, 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,”  Reddy said.

“We want to be thorough, don’t want to rush into the services,” he told reporters at a press conference.

He said that it is the deepest rail network in India and requires a lot of skill and hard work to construct and run it.