Chugging at 14 km/hour, the train left at 7 am amid loud cheers while another one started departing from Esplanade station at the same time.
The commercial services began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section on the 16.6km-long East-West corridor on March 6. The under-river section of the tunnel is 520 metres long and runs beneath Hooghly. It took the train around 45 seconds to cross it.
As soon as the Metro departed from Howrah Maidan station, a blue light illuminated the inner wall of the tunnels under the river to give the effects of water around the moving train.
As the train entered the under-river section there shouts of joy from some passengers, while others preferred to enjoy the view peacefully . There were many who were busy clicking selfies and capturing their maiden ride on the underground Metro.
According to passengers, the new Metro service would make travelling between Howrah and Kolkata more convenient.
Bholanath Sur, 69, said, “I had been waiting for a long time for this Metro to start. It will be easier for me to travel from Howrah to Kolkata. It is usually too hectic to travel in buses and autorickshaws through the congested lanes of Kolkata, especially during summer.”
Another passenger Yashodha Devi (39) rode the underground Metro to visit her in-laws, who live in Esplanade. “Earlier, the traffic made the commute to Esplanade quite difficult. Today, I couldn’t believe how quickly we reached Esplanade. It is a brilliant initiative and provides relief during summers.”
For elderly citizens like Swagata Kumar Dey, the new Metro service comes as a blessing. “I had a pleasant experience. The infrastructure is excellent. I am amazed at how I reached Dharmatala within eight minutes. Until a few days ago, I had to change at least three to four vehicles to reach the same destination. I’m glad that this Metro has started working and hope to see more development in the city,” said the 67-year-old who was heading to Dharamtala for a health checkup.
“So far, we get an overwhelming response, and people even came as early as 2.30 am to experience the first underwater Metro services in the country,” Metro Railway spokesperson Kaushik Mitra said.
In the Howrah Maidan to Esplanade section, a total of 130 services will be available daily from Monday to Saturday. The trains will run at 12-15 minute intervals in both directions, according to a statement issued by the Metro Railway earlier.
The authorities on Friday also launched commercial services on the Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section of the New Garia-Airport line and the Taratala-Majerhat section of the Joka-Esplanade line of the Kolkata Metro, the country’s oldest metro network.
However, completion of the project has suffered delays owing to an aquifer burst at Bowbazar on August 31, 2019, leading to severe ground subsidence and the collapse of a number of buildings there and two more water leakage incidents at the same site in 2022 during tunnelling and construction work.
– With PTI inputs
Taniya Acherjee is an intern at the Kolkata office of The Indian Express