INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated one new metro line and two extensions in Kolkata on March 6, totalling 11·5 km.
The initial 5·4 km, five-station southern section of Line 6 (Orange) has opened between Kavi Subhash and Hemanta Mukhopadhay; it was built at a cost of Rs14·4bn. The line is expected to relieve the busy Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.
Currently isolated from the rest of the line, the 4·8 km, four-station western section of east-west Line 2 was opened from Howrah Maidan to an interchange with Line 1 at Esplanade. This challenging section includes a deep tunnel under the Hooghly River, which is claimed to be India’s first underwater metro bore. A 30 m deep station serves Indian Railways’ Howrah terminus. Cost of this section was Rs49·7bn. Completing the route, the 2·2 km central section between Esplanade and Sealdah is now expected to open by Q3.
A one-station, 1·25 km northern extension of the under-construction metro Line 3 (Purple) from Taratala to Majerhat has also opened, at a cost of Rs 5·3bn.
India will hold national elections starting from April 19.
- Subscribers can read a feature article about the rapid expansion of Indian cities’ metro networks in the February 2024 issue of Railway Gazette International.
