India's first underwater Metro run put on hold

KOLKATA: India's first underwater Metro run was put off at the last minute after two rakes were successfully transported from East-West Metro's Sealdah station with the help of a battery-driven locomotive on Sunday.
The two rakes will travel from Esplanade (Kolkata side) to Howrah Maidan below the Hooghly river shortly, Metro Railway officials said. Then, train trials will be conducted so that the truncated Esplanade-Howrah Maidan section gets safety clearance for operations. As those tracking the East-West Metro project, which will eventually cover 16km from Sector V to Howrah Maidan below the river, were waiting for the historic underwater run, instructions were issued by higher-ups that the rakes would travel the next 4.8km from Esplanade to the terminal Howrah Maidan station in the next few days and not on Sunday.
When the rakes will cross the river in the next few days, they will pass through Howrah Station, the deepest Metro station in the country situated 33m below the ground.
The two rakes had been undergoing trials inside East-West Metro's Salt Lake depot over the last seven days. The rakes were being driven with the help of a battery-driven locomotive. The battery-operated hybrid locomotive bought from South Korea's Kum Chum System Co Ltd came handy because there is no third line to electrically power train runs between Sealdah, Bowbazar and Esplanade.
The locomotive - called hybrid because it can also work with third rail power - hauled the six-coach BEML-make rakes one by one from Sealdah to Esplanade through the eastbound tunnel. The first rake left the Salt Lake depot around 8.20am. It was followed by the second one around 8.30am. The locomotive, which can haul a train at a stiff gradient of 4% at a maximum speed of 25-kmph and usually used for accident relief or hauling a disabled train from the tracks, was able to push the first rake to Esplanade station around 12.30pm and the second around 3.50pm.
Till Sealdah, the rakes travelled normally on Sunday. From Sealdah to Esplanade, they were battery-driven. From Esplanade to Howrah Maidan, the rakes will again travel normally with power drawn from the third rail sometime this week, sources said. On Sunday one rake was parked at Esplanade station while the other inside the eastbound tunnel near Esplanade station. Officials heaved a sigh of relief because transporting the rakes to Esplanade is a crucial step for train trials on the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section to commence.