PM Modi inaugurates India's first underwater metro service i

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on March 6th, marked a historic moment as he inaugurated India's maiden underwater Metro line in Kolkata. This significant infrastructure marvel involves a metro tunnel constructed beneath the Hooghly River, linking Howrah Maidan to Esplanade.

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Following the inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister Modi, accompanied by school children, embarked on a metro ride from Esplanade to Howrah Maidan, in the City of Joy. Prior to the inauguration, students expressed their delight at the prospect of traveling with PM Modi on India's inaugural underwater metro service.

Additionally, Modi virtually inaugurated numerous other Metro services nationwide, receiving warm cheers and support from enthusiastic crowds chanting 'Modi Modi' and ‘Jai Shree Ram’.

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Let us take a look at the Metro projects inaugurated by PM Modi:

Purple Line

Commercial services on the Joka-Taratala stretch of the Purple Line are set to be extended to Majerhat.
The 1.25 km extension was completed at a cost of Rs 525 crore.
The Metro work between Joka to Esplanade is ongoing.
A 6.5 km section from Joka to Taratala was opened in 2022.
An expenditure of Rs 3,575 crore has been incurred up to February 2024.
The extension will benefit commuters and decongest traffic on Diamond Harbour Road.

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Green Line

The 520-metre East-West corridor is India's first under-river transportation tunnel.
Built at a cost of Rs 4,965 crore, it connects Howrah Maidan to Esplanade.
The corridor is over 30 feet below the Hooghly River's surface.
The 4.8-km stretch of East-West Metro is currently operational, with 9.3 km of the corridor operational.
The truncated section from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade was inaugurated, reducing travel time between Sealdah and Salt Lake to 20 minutes.
The corridor will connect two major railway terminuses at Howrah and Sealdah and the existing North-South Metro and Joka-Esplanade Corridor at Esplanade station.

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Orange Line

5.4 km stretch from Kavi Subhash to Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, built at Rs 1,435 crore.
Five stations named after notable figures: Satyajit Ray, Jyotirindra Nandi, Sukanta Bhattacharya, Subhash Mukhopadhyay, and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay.
Aims to decongest the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass and reduce travel time between Kavi Subhash and Rabi Thakur More.
Commuters on the Blue Line can use Orange Line services with the same tokens and smart cards.
The project was sanctioned in 2010-11 at Rs 3,952 crore, revised to Rs 8,964 crore.
Main work on the 5.4 km section completed on February 7, 2023, by One Train Only System.

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Key Points about India's First Under-River Metro Section in Kolkata:

The Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of the Kolkata Metro stands as the nation's pioneer underwater transportation tunnel, housing India's deepest metro station, the Howrah metro station, situated at a depth of 30 meters.
This section traverses beneath the Hooghly River, with Kolkata and Howrah situated on its east and west banks respectively.
Official sources reveal that the Metro will cover a 520-meter stretch under the River Hooghly in a mere 45 seconds.
The 4.8 km stretch linking Howrah Maidan and Esplanade constitutes the second segment of the East-West Metro corridor, connecting key areas including the IT hub Salt Lake Sector V.
Out of the total 16.6 km length of the East-West Metro, 10.8 km comprises the underground corridor, including the tunnel beneath the river, while the remaining stretch constitutes an elevated corridor.
The Kolkata Metro aims to commence commercial operations along the entire East-West alignment between Salt Lake Sector V and Howrah Maidan by June-July.
The 4.8 km stretch of the East-West Metro from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade has been constructed at a cost of ₹4,965 crore, as per Metro Railway officials.
Of the 16.6 km East-West Metro corridor, 10.8 km is underground, including the river tunnel, with a total of 12 stations along the route.
The train is anticipated to traverse the 520-meter river stretch in just 45 seconds, promising not only speed but also seamless and efficient transportation, augmenting Kolkata's connectivity and urban mobility.
Ticket prices for the metro start at ₹5 and can escalate up to ₹50 based on the distance traveled. The fare structure begins at ₹5 for the initial two kilometers and incrementally rises to ₹50.

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Moreover, during today's ceremony at the Esplanade metro station, PM Modi inaugurated various other crucial metro sections and projects across the country, including: