FIRST
UNDERWATER METRO LINE –INFRASTRUCTURE
News:
India’s first underwater
and deepest metro train service commences in Kolkata
What's
in the news?
●
The Prime Minister inaugurated the Kolkata
Metro's Esplanade-Howrah Maidan section, marking the inauguration of India’s
first underwater transportation tunnel.
Key
takeaways:
●
The section, passing below the Hooghly River, showcasing the nation's engineering
prowess hosts the deepest Metro station
(the Howrah metro station at 30 metres) in India.
Connecting
Places:
●
Underwater Metro service will connect twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah.
Features:
●
Underwater Metro Tunnel is a part of the
Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of Kolkata Metro’s East-West corridor, which
will cover a distance of 4.8 km under the Hooghly river.
●
Three
out of six stations will be underground.
●
The underwater metro train service
enhances connectivity between key areas of Kolkata, particularly between Howrah
and Esplanade.
●
By providing a fast and efficient mode of
transportation, it improves accessibility and reduces travel time for
commuters, thereby enhancing urban connectivity.
●
The service sets a precedent for future
infrastructure projects, symbolizing India’s progress and innovation in urban
development.
Go
back to basics:
River
Hooghly:
●
The Hooghly River, also known as the Bhagirathi-Hoogly and Kati-Ganga Rivers,
is one of the significant rivers in West Bengal.
●
It is a distributary or arm of the Ganges
River, about 260 km long.
●
Formed in Murshidabad, where Ganga splits into two parts – while the part flowing
through Bangladesh is called the Padma and the other part is the Hooghly.