PM Modi inaugurates India’s first underwater metro; realizes 105-year-old dream
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the underwater metro tunnel beneath the Hooghly river in Kolkata today, bringing to life a vision that eluded successive governments for over a century.
The brief ceremony at the newly constructed Esplanade Metro Station in Kolkata witnessed PM Modi inaugurating the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade metro section, along with the Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay and Taratala-Majerhat sections. West Bengal Governor Shri C. V. Anandabose and MP Sukanta Majumdar were also present at the event.
In addition to the Kolkata Metro inauguration, PM Modi laid the foundation stones for several other transportation projects across the country, including the Pune Metro Rail Phase 1 expansion, the Kochi Metro extension from SN Junction to Tripunithura, the Agra Metro expansion from Taj East Gate to Manakameshwar, and the inauguration of the Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor’s Duhai to Modinagar (North) section.
After the inaugural ceremonies, PM Modi boarded the metro from the Esplanade station to Howrah and back, accompanied by school students. During the ride, as the metro passed beneath the Hooghly river, colorful lights and laser beams illuminated the tunnel walls, displaying underwater scenes and marine life, much to the delight of the children.
The Howrah Maidan-Esplanade metro section of the Kolkata Metro is notable for featuring India’s first transportation tunnel beneath a mighty river. The Howrah Metro Station is also distinguished as the deepest metro station in India. Furthermore, the Majerhat Metro Station on the Taratala-Majerhat section boasts platforms elevated over a canal, adding to the metro’s architectural allure.
The idea of constructing a tunnel and metro rail beneath the Hooghly river dates back over a century. In 1919, during the British Raj in India, the proposal for an “East-West Tube Railway” from Bagmari to Salkia in Kolkata was approved by the Imperial Legislative Council in Shimla, the then summer capital of British India. However, due to financial constraints, the project was shelved in 1923. Attempts to revive the project were made in 1949-50 and later in 1969, but it wasn’t until 1973 that the Kolkata Metro project commenced with guidance from Russian and East German experts.
