• Source:JND
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Kolkata Metro Update: The construction work on the long-awaited purple line of the Kolkata metro began officially on Thursday, with tunnelling work inside the grounds of St. Thomas School, where one of Kolkata’s largest underground shafts has been dug up to accommodate the 600-ton machine.

The ceremonial beginning of work took place at the hands of P. Uday Kumar Reddy, Metro Railway General Manager, who pressed the button that sent ‘Durga’, a Tunnel Boring Machine  (TBM), inching forward toward Victoria. The tunnel stretch is expected to take place over 2 years to complete the construction on the purple line. 

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The second tunnelling machine, named ‘Divya’, is expected to join ‘Durga’ soon. The stretch, which is planned to span 1.7 km to Victoria, is the first phase of the twin tunnel to be constructed between Khidderpore and Park Street. The route is expected to ease pressure on the congested central roads of Kolkata.

Tunnelling On Stretch To Victoria To Be Completed By May 2026

If everything falls in place and occurs as it is planned, then the tunnel work till Victoria is expected to be completed by May 2026 and up to Park Street by the end of 2026. 

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The tunnelling machine being used to dig the tunnel was assembled in Chennai and later brought to Kolkata. The launching shaft, dug into school grounds, measures 37 metres in length and 17 metres deep, a cavernous pit big enough to fit the full 95-metre length of the TBM.