India's First Underwater Metro Tunnel Is Coming To Kolkata

City of joy, Kolkata, the first city in India to receive the Metro railway system, would yet again be recognised among the ‘firsts’ with the development of an underwater metro tunnel, as part of the Kolkata Metro Line-II, also known as the East-West Metro Project. Developed at an estimated cost of Rs 9,000 crore, this mass rapid transport (MRT) project is under construction and will span a total length of 16.6 kilometres (km) connecting Salt Lake Sector V in the east to the Howrah Station in the west. While 5.7 km of the total Metro length will be an elevated section, the underground stretch will run through an iconic underwater tunnel spanning 10.8 km comprising six stations.

To be opened in four phases, the operations will initially start from Salt Lake Sector V to Salt Lake Stadium in 2018, then to Phoolbagan in early 2019, to be then linked to Sealdah by end of 2019 and finally full operations till the Howrah Maidan will start by end of 2020.

PropGuide brings the latest updates and all about the upcoming Metro line:

About the project

Stations: Connecting the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah, the Kolkata Metro Line 2 will comprise of a total of 12 stations namely Salt Lake Sector V, Karunamoyee Metro, Central Park, City Center-1, Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceuticals, Salt Lake Stadium, Phoolbagan, Sealdah, Esplanade, Mahakaran, Howrah Station and Howrah Maidan.

Development: The construction of the Metro network, undertaken by the Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation (KMRC), is nearing completion as power connection was made available. A total of 17 trains will be deployed on the route. State-of-the-art technology has been used for developing the project with the inclusion of advanced features such as Platform Screen Doors, escalators and elevators.

Funding: The entire cost of the project will be borne by the West Bengal Government, the Central government and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

Future expansion: The West Bengal Government has also proposed an extension to this corridor till the Airport Garia Metro near Haldiram stoppage. As per this proposal, the entire route will then have three terminating stations at Howrah Maidan, Sector V and the proposed Haldiram station.

Connectivity: Likely to greatly augment the regional connectivity, the new Metro route in Kolkata will be integrated with existing metro services at central station on the north-south line, buses and feeder services. It passes through some of the densely populated, well-developed pockets of the city - such as the IT hub of Sector V and neighbouring industries - thereby providing an alternative mode of transportation, which has been the need of the hour for an urban agglomeration such as Kolkata.

Facts about the underwater tunnel

*Construction work by KMRC began in April 2016 with an estimated cost of Rs. 60 crore, after obtaining necessary clearances from different agencies.

*Built under the Hooghly river, the underwater tunnel has a diameter of 5.5 metres (m) and runs parallel to another, the distance of which from the main tunnel is about 16.1 m, but would vary all through the stretch.

*The 520-m twin tunnel structures are situated 13 m below the riverbed and 30 m below the earth's surface, running on either side of the river.

*Conceptualisation of an underwater tunnel was done way back in 1984 during the rule of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi but the project could not take off due to lack of funds.

*The contract for the underground construction was awarded to Afcons Infrastructure, a subsidiary of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group.

*There will be a provision of walkways for evacuation of passengers during an emergency.