Marinavan: started post

2026-01-29T13:48:50Z

started post

New page

{{short description|First underwater metro tunnel in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox tunnel
|other_name= Hooghly River Tunnel
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| location = {{flagicon|IND}} [[Kolkata]], India
| status = Constructed in 2021 by [[Afcons Infrastructure]] (underwater section)<br />6 March 2024(inaugurated)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/pm-modi-inaugurates-indias-first-underwater-metro-service-in-kolkata/articleshow/108255490.cms?from=mdr|title=PM Modi inaugurates India's first underwater metro service in Kolkata|date=6 March 2024|via=The Economic Times - The Times of India}}</ref>
<br />started operations commercially on and from 15 March 2024<ref name="indiatoday.in">{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/kolkata/story/kolkata-metro-new-routes-kavi-subhash-majerhat-esplanade-underwater-metro-2512747-2024-03-09|title=India's first underwater metro service in Kolkata to be open for public from March 15|date=9 March 2024|website=India Today}}</ref>
| start =[[Phoolbagan metro station]], [[Kolkata]]
| end = [[Howrah Maidan metro station]], [[Howrah]]
| owner = [[Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation]]
| operator = [[Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation]]
| traffic = [[Kolkata metropolitan area|Kolkata Metropolitan Region]]
| length = {{convert|10.8|km|mi|abbr=on}} <br />{{convert|0.520|km|mi|abbr=on}} (underneath Hooghly)
}}{{Kolkata Metro sidebar}}'''East–West Metro Tunnel'''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/underwater-metro-tunnel-work-likely-to-begin-next-month/articleshow/57283340.cms?from=mdr|title=Underwater metro tunnel work likely to begin next month|newspaper=The Times of India |date=22 February 2017}}</ref> is an underwater river tunnel of [[Kolkata Metro]] in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]]. The river tunnel is constructed underneath [[Hooghly River]]. It is the biggest underwater river [[tunnel]] of [[India]], which is made for [[Metro railway|metro rail]] service.<ref name="Confusion"/> The East–West Metro Tunnel length is {{convert|10.8|km|mi|abbr=on}} and width is {{convert|5.5|m|ftin}}. A {{Cvt|520|m|ftin}} stretch of the tracks goes through a tunnel under the Hooghly River. The roof of the tunnel is about {{Convert|30|m|ftin}} from the ground level. The tunnel was completed in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kolkata Metro's new line may open in 2018|newspaper= The Hindu Business |url= https://m.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/kolkata-metros-new-line-may-open-in-2018/article7318953.ece}}</ref> The tunnel is used by [[Green Line (Kolkata Metro)|Green Line]], also known as East–West Metro Line, for metro rail service by [[Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation]] and it was constructed by [[Afcons Infrastructure]].<ref>{{cite news|title= Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.|newspaper =kmrc.in|url=https://www.kmrc.in/}}</ref>

==Construction ==
[[File:Hooghly river underwater metro tunnel as seen in Narendra Modi's video (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|300px|Hooghly River Underwater metro tunnel segment]]
[[File:East west metro tunnel pics.webm|thumb|East–West metro tunnel underwater section journey]]
[[File:East West metro tunnel.jpg|thumb|right|East–West Metro Tunnel, under [[Hooghly River]] – biggest underwater metro tunnel in India<ref name="Confusion"/>]]
[[File:PM Modi sees the exhibition showcased on the India’s first under-river metro tunnel in Kolkata, West Bengal.jpg|thumb|Artists Conception of East–West underwater metro at Esplanade Metro station]]
[[File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi flags off the metro at Esplanade Metro Rail Station of Kolkata, in West Bengal on March 06, 2024 (2).jpg|thumb|Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] flags off the metro, with inaugurating the tunnel, with the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade stretch on March 6, 2024.]]
The section between [[Sealdah metro station]] and [[Mahakaran metro station]] was realigned due to the inability of GoWB to provide land on the surface along the original route. Even on the new alignment a station planned at Wellington had to be dropped as Government of West Bengal was unable to provide the required land on the surface. Work at Howrah Maidan have started in March 2016. The section between [[Howrah Maidan metro station]] and [[Esplanade metro station]] has been built by Afcons – Transtonnelstroy JV team, two tunnel boring machines from Herrenknecht are being used to dig the tunnel. This section passes through the Hooghly River for a distance of {{Convert|520|m|ftin}}. The section under the river is at a depth of {{Convert|30|m|ftin}} (roof to ground distance) whereas the average roof to ground distance is {{Convert|17|m|ftin}}. The [[Howrah metro station]] on the west side of the river will be at a depth of {{Convert|30|m|ftin}}. Tunnelling started from Howrah Maidan side. On 23 May one of the TBM named Rachna completed the tunneling under the Hooghly River in 36 days. The other TBM named Prerna also completed the tunnelling work under the river on 21 June 2017. There were some concerns during tunnelling under Brabourne Road as the tunnel would pass within {{Convert|100|m|ftin}} of heritage structures and there were also many old and dilapidated buildings in this section. KMRC received permission from Archaeological Survey of India in June 2017. Residents and shops in the old building were temporarily shifted and the buildings were reinforced before construction of tunnel. Construction of tunnel until Mahakaran station was completed in November 2017. For the Mahakaran–Esplanade section tunnelling of one of the tunnel has been completed on 23 March 2018 the other tunnel has also been completed by April. In this sections also shops and residents of the buildings have been shifted in phased manner before tunnelling. The Esplanade–Sealdah section will be executed by ITD-ITD Cementation JV and was scheduled to start in May 2018.
[[File:Urban Transport, Kolkata.jpg|thumb|right|Work being done at Howrah Maidan metro station]]

5490 meters of tunnel have been constructed between [[Subhas Sarobar]] and [[Sealdah]]. This section was constructed by ITD-ITD Cementation JV. All the cross passes between the two tunnels have also been completed. Track laying is being carried out in this section. The tunneling work was stopped due to collapse of building on 3 September 2019 over the [[Bowbazar]] area due to [[Tunnel boring machine|TBM]] hitting an [[aquifer]]. The work resumed in June, 2020 and successfully completed the affected area.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=23 June 2020|title=Resumption of tunnelling work of E-W Metro|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/amp/several-residents-in-citys-bowbazar-area-moved-to-hotels-as-work-resumed-for-ew-metro-official/1875184|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=6 October 2020|website=Outlook India}}</ref>

As the work began, the national and regional media claimed this project as a big milestone terming India's first ''under water'' and “underwater river” metro tunnel, but it's not true. While the [[Hooghly River]] is very wide and requires tons of engineering challenges in constructing tunnels, there are other metro lines built in India cities which get the discussed titles, including [[Kolkata metro]]'s operational Line-1 as the first one:

• [[Kolkata Metro Blue Line]]: Under the [[Circular Canal]] falling between the [[Shyambazar metro station|Shyambazar]] and [[Belgachia metro station]]s. (built in 1990s) Today, East–West Metro also passes under this canal between [[Phoolbagan metro station|Phoolbagan]] and [[Sealdah metro station]]s.

• [[Yellow Line (Delhi Metro)|Delhi Metro Line 2]] (Yellow): Under the [[Najafgarh Drain]] in northern Delhi (built in 2007) and [[Kushak Drain]] in southern Delhi (built in 2009).

• [[Blue Line (Chennai Metro)|Chennai Metro Line 1]] (Blue): Under the [[Cooum River]] in central Chennai while passing from the [[Government Estate metro station|Government Estate]] to [[Chennai Central metro station]] (built in 2015–17).<ref name="Confusion">{{Cite web |date=2017-05-05 |title=Kolkata Metro's TBM S639 Crosses Halfway Mark Under Hooghly |url=https://themetrorailguy.com/2017/05/05/kolkata-metros-tbm-s639-crosses-halfway-mark-under-hooghly/ |access-date=2023-02-14 |website=The Metro Rail Guy |language=en-US}}</ref>

Working cautiously, coupled with some more subsidences, all tunnelling works, retrieval of the two TBMs and closure of all shafts were completed in April 2023. The Metro authorities deemed the Esplanade-Sealdah section (particularly the incomplete, [[cave-in|caved-in]] west-bound tunnel), to be challenging and impossible to finish by 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-02-12 |title=Cave-in zone: Survey focus on strengthening Kolkata's East-West Metro tunnels |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/cave-in-zone-survey-focus-on-strengthening-kolkatas-east-west-metro-tunnels/articleshow/97833193.cms |access-date=2023-04-14 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> So, they planned to run trains (brought via completed east-bound tunnel) over a truncated Esplanade-Howrah Maidan section that is almost complete. For this, the authorities brought two racks from Central Park depot to Esplanade metro station on 9 April 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-13 |title=Kolkata Metro runs through tunnel below Hooghly, first in India to complete under-river journey |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/metro-rake-runs-under-river-first-time-india-howrah-kolkata-8553813/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> They were brought via a [[battery-powered]], [[hybrid train|hybrid]] [[locomotive]] as Esplanade-Sealdah section is not electrified. From there, the wheels of railways rolled for the first time below the Hoogly river when, both trains arrived at Howrah Maidan station on 13 April 2023. Currently, trial runs are ongoing over this truncated section, after which the authorities expect this section to be opened for commercial operations at the end of this year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-04-14 |title=East-West Metro's under-river trial starts on Howrah-Esplanade stretch |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/east-west-metros-under-river-trial-starts-on-howrah-esplanade-stretch/articleshow/99479098.cms |access-date=2023-04-14 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> Later, Kolkata Metro added blue light in the underwater tunnel section to give passengers a sense of feeling under Hooghly River.<ref>{{Citation |title=Riding UNDERWATER METRO under HOOGHLY RIVER, Kolkata |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmyQh0EqkOA |access-date=2023-12-31 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Esplanade metro station|Esplanade]]–[[Howrah Maidan metro station|Howrah Maidan]] section of the Green Line was inaugurated on 6 March 2024, along with the truncated sections of [[Taratala metro station|Taratala]]–[[Majerhat metro station|Majerhat]] under [[Purple Line (Kolkata Metro)|Purple Line]] and [[Kavi Subhash metro station|Kavi Subhash]]–[[Hemanta Mukhopadhyay metro station|Hemanta Mukhopadhyay]] under [[Orange Line (Kolkata Metro)|Orange Line]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-02-19 |title=Hope for ops start of three new Metro links in March first week |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/hope-for-ops-start-of-three-new-metro-links-in-march-first-week/articleshow/107806433.cms |access-date=2024-02-21 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> This left the Esplanade–Sealdah section as the remaining part of Green Line tunnel, that was opened on 22 August 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Metro Railway Kolkata / Indian Railways Portal |url=https://mtp.indianrailways.gov.in/view_detail.jsp?lang=0&id=0,4,268&dcd=3924&did=1709732766752EFE40D35130703F5AE83D8DB4F9F2BA7 |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=mtp.indianrailways.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-03-01 |title=India's deepest Metro station at Howrah also to be the largest |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/indias-deepest-metro-station-at-howrah-to-be-the-largest/articleshow/108121908.cms |access-date=2024-03-08 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Metro Railway Kolkata / Indian Railways Portal |url=https://mtp.indianrailways.gov.in/view_detail.jsp?lang=0&id=0,4,268&dcd=3926&did=1709813590202A5B847FBF4024927F49938AE354845FA |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=mtp.indianrailways.gov.in}}</ref>

Just before the tunnel enters the [[Underwater tunnel|underwater segment]], lies a [[ventilation shaft]] on the [[Kolkata]] bank of [[Hooghly River]], which is the deepest of its kind in [[India]], at {{Convert|44|m}} below ground level.<ref>{{Citation |title=East-West Metro, Kolkata (2024) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnqqYiboA5o |access-date=2024-03-08 |language=en}}</ref>

== Timelines ==

* 2009: Contract for building the underground section from Subhash Sarabor to Central Station awarded to ITD-ITD Cementation JV.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
* 2009: Physical construction of E–W corridor starts.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
* 2010: Contract for building the underwater tunnel section from Central to Howrah Maidan awarded to [[Shapoorji Pallonji Group|Afcons]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/first-under-river-metro-tunnel-owes-a-lot-to-calcutta-hc-project-experts-124030900262_1.html|title=First under-river metro tunnel owes a lot to Calcutta HC: Project experts|first=Business|last=Standard|website=www.business-standard.com}}</ref>
* 2012: Realignment proposed to avoid shifting of 80 families from Bowbazar and hawkers from Brabourne Road.
* 2015: Realignment approved by [[Indian Railways|Railways]] and JICA in between Sealdah to Howrah station.
* 2015: Subodh Mullick Square station, a key stop in the revised blueprint, done away with to avoid eviction of hawkers.
* 2017-March: [[Shapoorji Pallonji Group|Afcons]] nicknames the tunnel boring machines as Prerna and Rachna inspired from the names of daughter of their employee.
* 2017 – May 23: First TBM completes tunneling the eastbound tunnel under the Hooghly river.
* 2017 – June 21: Second TBM completes tunneling the westbound tunnel under the river Hooghly.
* 2017-June: Permission received from [[Archaeological Survey of India]] for construction of tunnel within 100 meters of three heritage buildings.
* 2017-July: Tram depot at Esplanade shifted to facilitate construction of Metro Station.
* 2017-July: People from 11 buildings in Brebourne Road evacuated in phased manner when the TBM's passes below these old buildings.
* 2017-August: Mini-bus stand at Mahakaran shifted to facilitate the construction of underground station.
* 2017-December: Tunnelling between Mahakaran station and Esplanade station on going.
* 2018 – March 23: First TBM named Prerna reaches Esplanade station completing the section from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade. This tunnel will be used by Howrah bound tunnel.
* 2018 – Apr 5: Second TBM named Rachna completes boring of second tunnel between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade station.
*2019 – Apr 14: Tunneling stopped due to lack of muck cars, and needed to be upgraded. Work started again after 5 days.
*2019 – Jun 23: TBMs Rachna & Prerna, after being parked at Curzon Park for few months, are finally being taken out.
*2019 – July 3: Both the TBMs are successfully taken out and loaded on trailers. With this, Rachna and Prerna's journey of tunneling under a river comes to an end.
*2023 - May: Tunneling of East–West Metro tunneling is complete.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vats |first=Sukriti |date=2023-05-23 |title=How KMRC overcame obstacles to build India's 1st underwater metro tunnel in Kolkata |url=https://theprint.in/india/how-kmrc-overcame-obstacles-to-build-indias-1st-underwater-metro-tunnel-in-kolkata/1589629/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref>
*2024 - March 6: East–West metro gets inaugurated by Indian prime minister [[Narendra Modi]], but not yet opened to general public
*2024 - March 15: East–West metro ([[Howrah Maidan metro station|Howrah Maidan]] to [[Esplanade metro station|Esplanade]]) will start operations commercially, and will be opened for general public.<ref name="indiatoday.in"/> Commercial operations are presently available in this route.
*2024-December 17: After TBM Urvi completed its tunnelling, a {{cvt|38|m}} critical gap of westbound tunnel was still completed. This part was completed carefully by traditional cut and cover method.
*2025-January: Trial run successfully conducted in westbound tunnel between Sealdah and Esplanade.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-01-21 |title=Successful trial run on Sealdah-Esplanade stretch signals end to Kolkata Metro's Bowbazar woes |url=https://mtp.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,285 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>
*2025-August: The Sealdah-Esplanade section was opened.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-08-12 |title=‘Efforts on to open 3 new metro lines next week’ |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/efforts-on-to-open-3-new-metro-lines-next-week/articleshow/123264233.cms |access-date=2025-08-14 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

==References ==
{{Reflist}}{{Kolkata Metro}}

{{coord missing|West Bengal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:East-West Metro Tunnel}}
[[Category:Kolkata Metro]]
[[Category:Railway tunnels in West Bengal]]

East–West Metro Tunnel - Revision history

Marinavan: started post