Howrah Maidan to Esplanade: Trial runs in full swing, KMRC to roll out India’s first underwater metro by year-end

The train will cross the portion of the tunnel right beneath the Hooghly river in just 45 seconds, officials said. It will ply 100 metres beneath the river waters.

Also, Howrah will be the deepest metro station in the country, 33 metres below the ground surface, it is learnt.

On Thursday, the KMRC took along a team of mediapersons, including The Indian Express reporter, for a test ride aboard the train number MR- 612 from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade across the Hooghly. It took the train moving at a speed  of 14km/hour three seconds to enter the tunnel beneath the river from the Howrah railway station.

The train which departed from the Howrah Maidan station at 12:11pm crossed Bankim Setu at 12:13pm. It reached the Howrah station at 12:14pm and crossed the river by 12:20pm.

“We are trying to complete all the works at the earliest while maintaining all protocols and safety measures. Except the Howrah Maidan station, civil and electric works are taking place in all stations. Tunnelling under the river was a huge challenge,” KMRC general manager (administration) AK Nandy said.

The East West Metro will pass through the highly congested parts of Kolkata that have narrow streets and historic buildings.

“We have been working on the project for years to make it a success. It will be a sigh of relief for everyone working on the project once the service is opened for the public,” said a KMRCL official part of the trial run. “Hopefully, the train from Esplanade to the Howrah Maidan station will be operational for passengers by the year-end,” said Kaushik Mitra, chief public relations officer of the Metro and Eastern Railways.

Of the total 16.6km-long East West stretch, 520 metres is under the Hooghly riverbed. “Once the route gets operational, passengers from the Howrah station will reach Dharmatala in eight minutes and Sealdah in 11 minutes. The route consists of 12 stations from Salt Lake Sector V in the east to Howrah Maidan in the west,” added an official.

“The route will be opened for passengers once trial runs are completed successfully and the Commission for Railway Safety gives an approval following inspection,” he added.

The East West Metro corridor connecting Howrah Maidan and Sector V and IT hub in Salt Lake, is partially operational between Sealdah and Sector V stations. Subsidence in the city’s Bowbazar area had hampered the work on the project.