The East-West Metro Corridor project which is India's first underwater metro service is expected to be completed by December 2023, the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) said on Friday.
"The ongoing underwater tunnel project is likely to be completed by December 2023," said Shailesh Kumar, General Manager (Civil), KMRC.
"This metro route between Howrah and Sealdah cuts down the commute time to 40 minutes as against 1.5 hours by road. It will also ease congestion at both ends... It will take 45 seconds to cross the tunnel," he added.
The underwater metro which will run through the Hooghly river will connect the cities of Kolkata and Howrah.
Construction of underwater metro tunnel:
The metro official also said that the construction of the tunnel was delayed due to some rehabilitation works which are in process. The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation took up the tedious task of constructing the underwater metro tunnel with the help of German equipment and experts. The construction of the metro amounted to an estimated cost of Rs 120 crore per km.
Two German-made tunnel boring machines (TBMs), named Prerna and Rachna, were deployed for the process. Emergency evacuation shafts up to 760 metres in length are being provided inside the tunnel in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) guidelines.
The evacuation shafts are being provided in Howrah Station in the west and Strand Road in the east for passenger safety.
The Kolkata Metro, which is the first metro railway in the country, started its journey in 1984 and is being expanded so as to cover the whole city and its outskirts too.
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