Nearly forty years after metro services started in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated India's first metro train tunnel beneath a river.
In the eastern state of West Bengal, the tunnel links the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah, which are separated by the Hooghly River.
Kolkata was the first city in India in 1984 to have an operating metro system.
Five salient features of India’s first under water metro system:
1:Kolkata and Howrah City are located on the east and west banks of the Hooghly River, beneath which the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section passes.
2:According to officials, the Metro will cross a 520 meter section of Hooghly River in just 45 seconds.
3:The second part of the East-West Metro route runs for 4.8 kilometers, connecting Howrah Maidan with Esplanade and the IT area Salt Lake Sector V.
4:The East-West Metro is 16.6 km long overall, of which 10.8 km are underground between Howrah Maidan and Phoolbagan. The tunnel runs beneath the Hooghly River, with the remaining portion being an elevated corridor.
5: The Kolkata Metro plans to provide commercial service along the full East-West alignment between Salt lake sector V and Howrah maidan in June or July.
Prime minister took the first inaugural ride of the metro accompanied by many school students as he arrived in west Bengal for the upcoming election campaign.
To provide the feeling of being underwater the railway authorities have installed special illumination with blue lights.
