​PM Modi unveils India's 1st underwater Metro route - Check details here

First underwater metro: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled multiple metro projects across the country, including India's first underwater metro line in Kolkata. The Rs 4,965-crore Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of Kolkata Metro's East-West Corridor, which has the first transportation tunnel "under any mighty river in India", was inaugurated by the PM. The stretch also has the deepest metro station in the country -- the Howrah metro station. Earlier, in the day, PM Modi also inaugurated Agra Priority Corridor, or Agra Metro Rail Project, which will provide tourists direct metro access to major attractions like the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort.
 
 

#WATCH पश्चिम बंगाल: प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने कवि सुभाष मेट्रो, माझेरहाट मेट्रो, कोच्चि मेट्रो, आगरा मेट्रो, मेरठ-आरआरटीएस सेक्शन, पुणे मेट्रो, एस्प्लेनेड मेट्रो-कोलकाता से मेट्रो रेलवे सेवाओं को हरी झंडी दिखाई। https://t.co/S9e12I1kgP pic.twitter.com/n5FtucDhM0

— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) March 6, 2024

 
After the inauguration programme, Modi took a metro ride from Esplanade to Howrah Maidan along with school children. The under-river section of the tunnel is 520 metres long, and a train will take around 45 seconds to cross it, officials said.

#WATCH पश्चिम बंगाल: प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने 6 नई मेट्रो ट्रेन को हरी झंडी दिखाई। pic.twitter.com/qIE6N7zNe1

— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) March 6, 2024

 
Green Line of Kolkata Metro

The underwater metro route is located on the Green Line of Kolkata Metro, which is a 16.6 km long corridor. It connects IT hub Salt Lake Sector 5 in East Kolkata and Howrah Maidan in the West. This route passes through Sealdah and Esplanade. The first phase of this corridor is between Sector 5 and Sealdah. Presently, it is operational.
 

Kolkata metro 

The first metro operation in India was started in Kolkata in 1984. Alok Kumar, Associate Professor of IIM-Calcutta, did a lot of research on railways. After this, the idea was again put forward in the 1980s by the then Railway Minister ABA Ghani Khan Chaudhary. Delhi Metro, on the other hand, started 18 years after Kolkata Metro. The then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated Delhi Metro in 2002.