Kolkata Metro to test run India’s first under-water sections on April 9

The city that received India’s first Metro in 1984 is about to test the country’s first underwater Metro. Two six-coach trains will be tested on the 4.8-kilometer length between Esplanade and Howrah Maidan of Kolkata’s Hooghly River, which is home to twin under-river tunnels.

Authorities have opted to begin operations without waiting for the much-delayed 2.5-kilometer Sealdah-Esplanade portion to be completed.

Trials are underway on the Kolkata Metro’s Green Line, a 16.6-kilometer line connecting Sector V in east Kolkata to Howrah Maidan via Sealdah and Esplanade.

Parts of the line are alrady operational, but the Sealdah-Esplanade section has faced extensive delays, with the area witnessing three major subsidences since August 2019.

The two trains for Sunday’s trial will run from the Salt Lake depot to Howrah Maidan through the east-bound tunnel between Sealdah and Esplanade, with officials confident about the expedition.

Incomplete sections – between Sealdah and Esplanade – will see gaps bridged for now, using temporary tracks for the transportation of two trains to Howrah Maidan on Sunday.

“Since there will be no East-West Metro service on Sunday, the trains will be taken to Howrah Maidan on that day. Till Sealdah, the trains will travel normally. From Sealdah to Esplanade, they will be pushed by a battery-powered loco since the incomplete tunnel doesn’t have electrified third rails yet. From Esplanade to Howrah Maidan, the trains will travel normally again,” an official told TOI.