This is a “revolutionary step” in providing a modern transport system to the people of Kolkata and its suburbs, the official said.
Metro Railway General Manager P Uday Kumar Reddy travelled from Mahakaran station in Kolkata to Howrah Maidan station of the East West Metro corridor in the rake.
Later, another rake also reached Howrah Maidan station by the same route.
Terming it a ‘historic event’, the Metro general manager said, “Trial runs between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade station will be conducted for the next seven months, following which regular services on this stretch will begin.”
Trial runs on the 4.8 km stretch of the underground section will commence soon, the official said.
After this stretch becomes operational, Howrah Maidan will be the deepest Metro station – 33-metre below the surface – of the country. The Metro is expected to cover the 520-metre stretch under the river Hooghly in 45 seconds, he said, adding that this tunnel under the river is 32 metres below the water surface level.
The East West Metro corridor connecting Howrah Maidan and Sector V, the Information Technology hub in Salt Lake, is partially operational – between Sealdah and Sector V stations.
Completion of the total project has been delayed owing to accidents in Bowbazar area of central Kolkata.
On August 31, 2019, a tunnel boring machine (TBM) had hit an aquifer leading to severe ground subsidence and the collapse of a number of buildings at Bowbazar.
Several houses were damaged again in May 2022, owing to ground subsidence caused by water seepage during work for joining the tunnels coming from the Sealdah side in the east and the Esplanade side on the western side.
The underground water seepage caused cracks in 12 buildings at Madan Dutta Lane in Bowbazar on October 14, 2022, the last accident there to affect completion of the project.
Out of the 16.6 km length of East West Metro, the underground corridor constitutes 10.8 km between Howrah Maidan and Phoolbagan with the tunnel passing below the Hooghly river, while the rest is elevated corridor, according to a KMRC official.
