India’s first underwater metro rail, which was supposed to make history by running, was abruptly postponed. This comes when two rakes were successfully transported from East-West Metro’s Sealdah station with the help of a battery-driven locomotive on Sunday,
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According to Metro Railway officials, the two rakes will witness a movement and make their journey from Kolkat’s Esplanade to Howrah Maidan beneath the Hooghly River in the upcoming days. The shortened Esplanade-Howrah Maidan stretch will thereafter undergo train trials in order to receive safety approval for operation. In the next few days, when the rakes cross the river, they will go via Howrah Station, the country’s deepest metro station, which is 33 metres below the surface.
Meanwhile, the concerned higher authorities directed that the rakes would travel the remaining 4.8 km from Esplanade to the terminal Howrah Maidan station in the coming days rather than on Sunday. This is part of the East-West Metro project, which will eventually cover 16 km from Sector V to Howrah Maidan below the river.
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Meanwhile, over the last seven days, tests on the two rakes had taken place inside the Salt Lake depot of East-West Metro. A locomotive powered by batteries was used to pull the rakes. Since there isn’t a third line to electrically power train trips between Sealdah, Bowbazar, and Esplanade, the battery-operated hybrid locomotive purchased from South Korea’s Kum Chum System Co Ltd came in handy.
