page_title: Kolkata Metro
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Kolkata Metro / History / Construction
caption_attribution_description: Magyar: A 4B pajzs kicsit szokatlan homloktámasztása a szovjetek által előidézett szakadás után a tübbingekbe épített acélszerkezetről
context_page_description: The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. As of July 2020, it has two operational lines, a 27.22 km line from Noapara to Kavi Subhash and a 5.8 km line from Salt Lake Sector V to Salt Lake Stadium, for a total of 33.02 km. Four other lines are in various phases of construction. The system has a mix of underground, at-grade and elevated stations using both broad-gauge and standard-gauge tracks. Trains operate between 05:45 and 21:55 IST, and the fares range from ₹5 to ₹30.
  The Kolkata Metro is the first planned and operational rapid transit system in India. It was initially planned in the 1920s, but construction started in 1970s. The first elevated stretch, from Bhawanipore to Esplanade, opened in 1984. Line 2, or the East–West Corridor, opened in 2020. It is the fifth-longest operational metro network in India after the Delhi Metro, Hyderabad Metro, Chennai Metro and Namma Metro.
  Metro Railway, Kolkata, and Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation are the owners and operator of the system. On 29 December 2010, Metro Railway, Kolkata, became the 17th zone of the Indian Railways, completely owned and funded by the Ministry of Railways.
context_section_description: Since it was India's first metro and was constructed as a completely indigenous process, a traditional cut-and-cover method and driven shield tunneling was chosen and the Kolkata Metro was more of a trial-and-error affair, in contrast to the Delhi Metro, which saw the involvement of multiple international consultants. As a result, it took nearly 23 years to completely construct the 17 km (11 mi) underground railway.
  The foundation stone of the project was laid by Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, on 29 December 1972, and construction work started in 1973–74. Initially, cut and cover along with slurry wall construction to handle soft ground, was recommended by the Soviet Union Consultants. Later, in 1977, it was decided to adopt both shield tunneling and cut and cover methods for construction under populated areas, sewer lines, water mains, electrical cables, telephone cables, tram lines, canals etc. The technology was provided by M/s NIKEX Hungarian Co., Budapest. In the early days, the project was led by the Union Railway Minister from West Bengal, A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury, often against the prevailing socio-political stance of his contemporaries in the West Bengal government. From the start of construction, the project had to contend with several problems including insufficient funds (until 1977–1978), a shifting of underground utilities, court injunctions, and an irregular supply of vital materials. In 1977, an injunction for the allocation of new funding was passed by the newly elected Jyoti Basu government.
  
  Despite all the hurdles, services began on 24 October 1984, with the commissioning of a partial commercial service covering a distance of 3.40 km (2.11 mi) with five stations served between Esplanade and Bhowanipur (currently Netaji Bhavan). The first metro was driven by Tapan Kumar Nath and Sanjoy Sil. The service was quickly followed by commuter services on another 2.15 km (1.34 mi) stretch in the north between Dum Dum and Belgachhia on 12 November 1984. The commuter service was extended to Tollygunge on 29 April 1986, covering a further distance of 4.24 km (2.63 mi), making the service available over a distance of 9.79 km (6.08 mi) and covering 11 stations. However, the services on the north section were suspended starting 26 October 1992, as this small, isolated section was little used. The Line 1 was almost entirely built by cut and cover method, while a small 1.09 km stretch between Belgachia and Shyambazar was built using shield tunneling with compressed air and air locks, since the alignment crossed a railway yard (now Kolkata railway station) and Circular Canal.
  After more than eight years, the 1.62 km (1.01 mi) Belgachhia–Shyambazaar section, along with the Dum Dum–Belgachhia stretch, was opened on 13 August 1994. Another 0.71 km (0.44 mi) stretch from Esplanade to Chandni Chowk was commissioned shortly afterwards, on 2 October 1994. The Shyambazaar-Shobhabazar–Girish Park (1.93 km [1.20 mi]) and Chandni Chowk–Central (0.60 km [0.37 mi]) sections were opened on 19 February 1995. Services on the entire stretch of the Metro were introduced from 27 September 1995 by bridging the 1.80 km (1.12 mi) gap with Mahatma Gandhi Road metro station in the middle.
  In 1999–2000, the extension of Line 1 along an elevated corridor from Tollygunge to New Garia, with six stations, was sanctioned at a cost of ₹907 crore (US$130 million). The section was constructed and opened in two phases, Mahanayak Uttam Kumar to Kavi Nazrul in 2009 and Kavi Nazrul to Kavi Subhash in 2010. The latest extension opened was the 2.59 km (1.61 mi) stretch from Dum Dum to Noapara on 10 July 2013.
caption: Shyambazar-Belgachhia Section (Shield tunneling using compressed air and airlocks) using Hungarian expertise during its construction in 1980s.[10]
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