By Neha Yadav
Published Mar 06, 2024

Hindustan Times
In Focus

Photo Credits: PTI

PM Modi inaugurates India's 1st underwater metro section. See pics

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India's first underwater metro section in Kolkata on March 6. 

PM Modi was welcomed by a huge crowd upon his arrival at the Esplanade metro station. 

He also laid foundation stone of multiple connectivity projects worth 15,400 crore.

PM Modi also took an underwater metro ride with school students in Kolkata.

Here are key things you need to know about the underwater metro section in Kolkata.

The Kolkata Metro's Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section is the country's first underwater transportation tunnel. The section has the deepest metro station in India, the Howrah metro station at 30 meters. 

The 4.8 km distance between the Howrah Maidan and Esplanade of the East-West Metro corridor connects several areas including the IT hub Salt Lake Sector V.

According to the Metro Railway, the East-West Metro corridor from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade has been built at a cost of 4,965 crore.

According to news agency PTI, 10.8 km of the East-West Metro corridor is underground, including the tunnel beneath the river. There are a total of 12 stations on the entire route.