Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple connectivity projects worth Rs 15,400 crores in Kolkata on Wednesday. PM Modi travelled with school students in India’s first underwater metro train in Kolkata on Wednesday. PM interacted with metro staff while travelling in India’s first underwater metro train along with state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and WB LoP and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari.
He inaugurated the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of Kolkata Metro’s East-West corridor on Wednesday, heralding India’s first venture into underwater metro services, which is deemed as an engineering marvel.
The Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section, a groundbreaking addition to the metropolis’ transportation network and touted to be the first transportation tunnel “under any mighty river in India”, will have the deepest metro station in the country — the Howrah Metro station.
Nestled under the Hooghly river, which separates the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah, this feat stands as a testament to engineering ingenuity. Kolkata Metro touched a milestone in April 2023 as its rakes completed a trial journey under the bed of Hooghly through a tunnel 32 metre below the water level for the first time in India.
According to researchers, the idea of having an underwater transportation system on the lines of London was first mooted by the British in 1921.With a focus on enhancing avenues for ensuring ease of urban mobility, PM inaugurated Kolkata Metro’s Howrah Maidan- Esplanade Metro section, Kavi Subhash- Hemanta Mukhopadhyay Metro section, Taratala- Majerhat Metro section (part of Joka- Esplanade Line); Pune Metro from Ruby Hall Clinic to Ramwadi stretch; Kochi Metro Rail Phase I Extension project (Phase IB) from SN Junction Metro station to Tripunithura Metro station; Agra Metro’s stretch from Taj East Gate to Mankameshwar; and Duhai-Modinagar (North) section of Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor. He will flag off train services on these sections.
