Context
India’s first underwater tunnel for metro connectivity in between Howrah and Kolkata is underway and will be fully functional by 2023.
About India's first underwater Metro
- Of the 16.6-km-long east-west stretch, 520 meters will be under the river bed of Hooghly river.
- The tunnel corridor is built 33 meters below the riverbed and will connect Kolkata to Howrah.
- The Kolkata East-West Metro line is being constructed by Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRCL) and has the underwater tunnel that will go beneath the Hooghly river.
- Speaking on the facilities and safety measures being provided in the project, there will be walkways in the tunnels for evacuation of passengers in case of emergency.
- Almost 80 percent of the work of the East-west Howrah Metro station is completed and expected that the full-fledged service may start from 2023.
- Important Passage work has also been done keeping in mind that if a technical problem arises inside the water tunnel area, passengers can be taken out through the special passage.
- The station is being built under the Hooghly river at a depth of 33 meters.
- 80 percent of work has been completed while 20 percent is yet to be finished.
Important points
- Tunnel dug 30 metre underground
- Total distance between impervious layer and river is 13 metres
- Total length of track is 16.6 km
- Automatic train with no driver. Can be driven remotely too
- Type of track is ballastless and the length of underground track is 10.8 km
- Type of gauge is standard gauge 1,435
- Will connect Howrah and Sealdah — the busiest railway terminals in West Bengal
- Number of tunnels is two
- Six air-conditioned coaches in each train
- Number of passengers per train will be around 1,000
