India’s first underwater metro service:
India’s first underwater metro service, The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) said that the East-West Metro Corridor project, is expected to be completed by December 2023. With this, another feather is being added to the crown of Kolkata Metro, the first metro railway in the country. Kolkata Metro, which started its journey in 1984, is being expanded to cover the whole city and its outskirts. The underwater metro, which will be running through the Hoogly river will connect the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata.
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About the project:
- Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation has taken up the difficult take of making the tunnel with the help of German machines and the best experts. Work inside the tunnel is still in progress.
- As far as the cost of construction of the underground metro is concerned, it costs about Rs 120 crore per kilometre to build the tunnel but the manufacturing cost of the tunnel underwater, which is deep in the Hooghly river costs increased to around 157 crores by per kilometre.
- The completion of the project will bring great relief to lakhs of commuters as it will connect the busy Howrah and Sealdah railway stations as well as the north-south line of the Kolkata Metro at Esplanade. Another attraction for travellers will be the twin tunnels under the width of the river. Passengers will pass under the water for half a kilometre in less than a minute, giving them a one-of-a-kind experience.
Metro Rail system in India
- First metro in India; Kolkata Metro which started its operation 24 October 1984 between Dum Dam to Tollygunge. It was started with the help of the Soviet Union. Largest metro rail in operation in India: Delhi Metro (390.14 km: Source DMRC as on 7 March 2022). It started operation on 24 December 2002. Smallest Metro: Ahmedabad metro ,6 km
- The metro rail systems in operation in India are in the cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Kochi Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Noida, and Pune. (total 15 cities )
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- West Bengal Capital: Kolkata;
- West Bengal Chief minister: Mamata Banerjee;
- West Bengal Official animal: Fishing cat.