WATCH | India's Kolkata Metro successfully conducts historic underwater trial
Hooghly river bridge in Kolkata
India's Kolkata Metro achieved a historical feat as it became the country's first to run under a river. A Metro rake ran below river Hooghly (a major tributary of river Ganga in eastern India) between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade metro stations, officials informed on Wednesday.
Up until 1912, Kolkata (then Calcutta) was the capital of India, after which the British imperial rulers moved it to New Delhi,about 1500 km to its west.
"Kolkata Metro created another history on 12.04.2023. After a long wait Country’s first Metro has run under the mighty river Hooghly today. For the first time in India Metro has completed the river journey," the official statement said.
ALSO READ |India to soon conduct trial run of its first underwater metro
"P Uday Kumar Reddy, General Manager, Metro Railway travelled from Mahakaran to Howrah Maidan station in Rake No. MR-612 to witness this historic event. This rake crossed river Hooghly at 11:55 hrs. Reddy offered puja at Howrah station once the rake reached there,"it added.
Thetrial runs from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade will be conducted for the next seven months.
)
US vs China over South China Sea: Washington backs Philippines, Beijing hits back
)
Bigg Boss 20: Isha Rikhi evicted after three weeks in Salman Khan’s show
)
Musk plans to more than double xAI's chips to over 1.2 million Nvidia GPUs by year-end
)
After JU, clash erupts at SRFTI: BJP’s ‘Dimagi Naxal’ jibe sparks political firestorm after students protest RSS-linked event
)
‘Anti-social elements spreading false rumours’: LPU issues statement amid massive unrest over alleged rape
)
LPU students go on rampage, vandalise campus amid widespread protest: What's happening
)
Trump asked Xi to pressure Iran. China did not say yes — here’s what Beijing wants
)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hails global crackdown on Iranian banks and airlines
)
An OpenAI agent escaped its locked test cage again, by hiding questions in DNS lookups
)
'Our video was trimmed': LPU girls who featured in rape-denial video make U-turn
)
3 males killed, four others injured in shooting after fight at strip club in Detroit
)
'Victory for low-budget consumers': Raghav Chadha hails 30-day telecom recharge rules
)
Claude rebuilt the 1989 game 'Prince of Persia' by reusing the original's own code
)
Beyond metros: How Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities could drive India’s next AI wave
)
Tesla builds first Cybertruck with its own refined lithium: Elon Musk's $1 billion Texas bet pays off
)
IndiGo flight suffers tail strike in Bengaluru while landing; DGCA to probe incident
)
The US and China set up an AI 'red telephone', but skipped the rulebook
)
‘Terror suspects arrested near UK air base were looking to do big damage’: Trump
)
Russian envoy claims US tactics to contain India were revealed in ‘Freudian slip’
)
IND vs WI 1st ODI: Kohli breaks Sachin's most runs in one country record with unbeaten 139 as India thump West Indies by 8 wickets
)
Researchers rebuilt exactly how 700 AI agents hacked Hugging Face: a 900-link chain trick
)
‘Olympic inclusion is our major target’: WPA President Ishaun Singh on pool’s global ambitions
)
Nations League: Spain sink England at Wembley; Modric shines for Croatia
)
Why has Iran released no proof of life of Mojtaba Khamenei? Araghchi reveals...
)
'What kind of confession is this?': Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif’s 'terrorists would be roaming New York' remark goes viral, raises alarm online. Watch
)
South Korea demands apology from Ukraine over North Korean prisoners' transfer
)
Beyond BrahMos: India targets Rs 50,000 crore in defence exports with unmatched price edge
)
Sri Lankan Tamil migrant worker gets death sentence in Saudi Arabia, help sought from India
)
Muslim marriage cannot shield sex with minor wife from prosecution under POCSO: Delhi HC
)
'Can't help but draw painful parallels to Nirbhaya case': SC on latest incidents of rape cases in Delhi-NCR
)
99.9% more powerful - Scientists find boy who can recall memories from just 3 months of age
)
'FIRST LOOK from inside Noah’s Ark': Researchers share video from inside mysterious mound in Turkey
)
UNSC reform momentum grows: Russia, Portugal, Mauritius push for India's permanent seat bid
)
8 US marines injured in Iranian missile attack on vessel in Strait of Hormuz: Report
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
New OTT releases this week (September 28-October 4, 2026): Dupahiya 2, Pooja Meri Jaan, Ohh My Dog- 5 titles coming on Netflix, Prime Video and more
)
Afghanistan says 28 fighters killed in clash near Pakistan border, Islamabad denies
)
Ceuta migrant crisis: Protesters take to streets as Spain grapples with migrant challenge
)
LPU suspend classes, postpones exams as violence escalates over rape claims: What's happening
)
New York City wants a 'kill switch' on every AI, and will pay whistleblowers who report violations
"Later, Rake No MR- 613 was also taken to Howrah Maidan station. Terming it a historic event, General Manager has informed us that the trial runs from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade will be conducted for the next 7 months and after that regular services on this stretch will begin," it said.
ALSO WATCH |Kolkata metro gets India's first underwater tunnel
The Metro Railway General Managerstated that the operationalisation of commercial services on the stretch can be expected in the year 2023.
"Soon the trial runs on the 4.8 kms underground section from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade will begin. It is expected that commercial services on this stretch will begin this year. Once this stretch is open, then Howrah will be the deepest Metro station (33 meters below the surface) in the country. The Metro is expected to cover the 520-metrestretch under the river Hooghly in 45 seconds. This tunnel under the river is 32 metresbelow the water level," it said.
Earlier in the year 2022 Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) said that the East-West Metro Corridor project, India’s first underwater metro service, is expected to be completed by December 2023.
(With inputs from agencies)
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.