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India to get its first-ever underwater metro likely by June 2023

The East-West corridor project will cover a larger distance from Sector V to Howrah, under the Hooghly River, in a mere 27 minutes. Another attraction for commuters on India’s very own version of Eurostar- trains between London and Paris will be the twin tunnels down the width of the river.

ET Now Digital

Updated Aug 9, 2022, 07:50 IST

Photo : BCCL

New Delhi: Indians could soon get to ride in the country’s maiden underwater metro service as the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) on Monday shared that the East-West corridor project is expected to be completed by June next year.

"Target for commissioning of the balance section from Sealdah to Howrah Maidan is June 2023," said the KMRC, quoted by news agency PTI. The underwater metro will connect Salt Lake to Howrah via Kolkata with a 500-meter stretch below the Hooghly River. It is currently operational between Sector V and Sealdah stations.

Of the total 16.55 km length of the project, 9.30 km length between Sector V and Sealdah is operational, KCMR said adding that the remaining 7.25 km length is likely to be operational within less than a year's time.

After completion of the project, four more underground stations will be added at Esplanade, Mahakaran, Howrah, and Howrah Maidan. Once the East-West Metro link connects Kolkata and Howrah, it should cater to a million commuters by 2035, according to a KMRC official.

The tunnels, for the route, were created in 2017 by Afcons, a construction company. “The river tunnels, an engineering marvel, are a first in India and a rare venture worldwide. They were completed in 67 days,” Satya Narayan Kunwar, the project manager of Afcons, had told ToI. However, the project faced time and cost overruns due to overflowing water.

The commencement of service of the metro train will be nothing less than a boon for lakhs of commuters as it is likely to cut down the travel time significantly. Currently, the Green Line in Kolkata covers a small distance of 6. 97 km between Sector V in east Kolkata, and Phoolbagan.

It is worth mentioning here that metro travellers will go past below the water in less than a minute for half a kilometre.

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