The significance of Kolkata's underwater metro train

New Delhi: For understandable reasons has there been excitement about Kolkata Metro's East-West corridor that incorporates a short but critical 520-metre-long undersea tunnel below the River Hooghly.

A short section on the line - from Esplanade to Howrah Maidan- is targeted for completion in December this year, while the deadline of June 2024 has been fixed for the start of commercial operations on the entire 16.55 km stretch from Salt Lake-V to Howrah Maidan. The undersea stretch has been built and trials will shortly begin to certify train operations at speeds of 80 kmph, officials said.

New York and New Jersey have been connected by an underwater train below the River Hudson. London and Paris are connected by an underwater train corridor, with the Eurostar train taking 35 minutes to cover the distance. China operates such trains, as does Japan. The high point of the East-West line does not merely relate to reports about the completion of works on the underwater section. The argument is not even that, after the start of train runs, India will join the ranks of a handful of nations that operate underwater trains. The critical issue is this: Indian rail engineers aspired for - and are about to close the deal - on an extremely challenging project. The Kolkata Metro, incidentally, is the country's only metro system that is completely owned by the India Government.

The Challenges

The river bed of the Hooghly is composed of "Delta soil" or soft soil; which posed tough challenges in executing the project", said officials of the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) - project executing agency. '' Reinforcing the underground soil was a challenge, as was the task of working on restricted areas because the earlier tributaries and creeks that merged into the Hooghly had gradually vanished because of growing urbanisation", the officials further said.

There were other roadblocks. The line alignments had had to be changed on at least two occasions in the past, either because of political differences or on account of protests from environmentalists and civil society groups. Drilling activities had intermittently been put off at sites where old, heritage buildings exist. Several buildings in the crowded Bowbazar area had also reportedly caved in. Needless to say, the project gathered time and cost overruns because of such factors. "The impediments have now been overcome and the task of wrapping up the project remains", KMRCL Managing Director HN Jaiswal told Newsdrum.

Transportation Sorrows

The City of Joy also has the dubious distinction of being among the world's most densely populated cities. Traffic is usually at a crawl, with usual traffic jams at the two bridges leading up to the Howrah station: The old Howrah bridge, apart from the Vivekanand Setu. The East-West metro line, when complete, will provide a safe, dependable and eco-friendly transportation system connecting the twin Cities of Howrah and Kolkata. The line, naturally enough, will help eradicate vehicular pollution and reduce traffic congestion; with internal estimates being that 6 lakh passengers would be taken off the roads after the line becomes fully operational. The line will also provide improved opportunities for economic development, as it will provide easy access to existing commercial and institutional areas. It will also encourage similar development above the stations on the line in the form of Transit Oriented Development.

The Gains

The biggest plus is possibly this: The experience gained from the underwater metro line could potentially be used elsewhere in the country in future. Twenty-two metro lines are either operational or under construction in various cities, while the Central Government has also accorded approval to build metro lines in four additional cities. Scores of other cities have pitched in with proposals to build metro lines. It is possible that some of the upcoming metro projects would face similar challenges of crossing a river through an underwater corridor.

A metro revolution certainly appears to be happening in India, providing business opportunities to foreign or domestic rail infrastructure companies. At the same time, India has the opportunity to take a technological leap in metro rail development.