On March 6, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first-ever underwater metro section in Kolkata. This remarkable feat of engineering spans a distance of 16.6 kilometers beneath the Hooghly River, connecting Kolkata’s twin cities: Howrah and Salt Lake.
Here are the key points about this groundbreaking project:
- Underwater Marvel:
- The metro tunnel runs beneath the River Hooghly, making it the first transportation tunnel under any mighty river in India.
- The Howrah Metro Station, located beneath the river, is the deepest station in the country, with tunnels extending 32 meters below the water level.
- The underwater metro section covers a 520-meter stretch under the river, allowing commuters to traverse this distance in just 45 seconds.
- East-West Metro Corridor:
- The underwater metro is part of the East-West Metro corridor, linking Howrah Maidan to the IT hub Salt Lake Sector V.
- In April 2023, Kolkata Metro made history by running a train through the tunnel under the Hooghly River as part of trials, a first in India. This section is 4.8 kilometers long and connects Howrah Maidan to the Esplanade.
- Automatic Train Operation (ATO):
- The metro uses a system called Automatic Train Operation (ATO). After the motorman presses a button, the train moves automatically to the next station.
- Out of the total 16.6 kilometers of the East-West Metro, 10.8 kilometers are underground, including the tunnel under the Hooghly River. The rest is above ground.
Q: Which station is the deepest in the underwater metro system?
A) Salt Lake Sector V
B) Howrah Maidan
C) Esplanade
D) Howrah Metro Station
Answer: D) Howrah Metro Station
Q: Which river does the underwater metro tunnel pass beneath?
A) Yamuna
B) Ganges
C) Brahmaputra
D) Hooghly
Answer: D) Hooghly
