Kolkata Metro Tunnel Breakthrough Boosts Joka-Esplanade Project

The Joka–Esplanade Metro Corridor is designed to provide faster, safer and more environmentally friendly public transport for thousands of commuters.

Kolkata Metro has achieved another major construction milestone with the successful breakthrough of Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Durga at Victoria Metro Station on the Joka–Esplanade Metro Corridor. The breakthrough completes one of the underground tunnel drives between Khidderpore and Victoria, bringing the Purple Line a step closer to completion and strengthening the city's expanding mass transit network.

Tunnelling for this section began on 10 July 2025 and was completed with careful planning, advanced engineering and close coordination among project teams. Officials said the work maintained high safety and quality standards while keeping disruption to road traffic and daily life to a minimum throughout the construction period. The completed tunnel is expected to play a vital role in improving connectivity between southern Kolkata and the city's central business district once the corridor becomes operational.

Metro expansion gathers pace with major infrastructure gains

The Joka–Esplanade Metro Corridor is designed to provide faster, safer and more environmentally friendly public transport for thousands of commuters. The new line is expected to reduce travel time, ease pressure on busy roads and encourage greater use of public transport across Kolkata.

The successful breakthrough of TBM Durga is the latest in a series of important achievements for Kolkata Metro over the past 50 days. Earlier, engineers completed the challenging 62-metre viaduct gap at Chingrighata on the Kavi Subhash–Airport, or Orange Line, removing one of the project's biggest construction hurdles and allowing work to move forward at a quicker pace. These milestones reflect the continued progress of Metro expansion projects that are reshaping urban transport infrastructure across the city.

Railway Minister reviews progress and announces new trains

During a recent visit to Kolkata, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed the progress of various Metro projects and travelled on the Metro from Jai Hind Bimanbandar to Noapara station. He interacted with passengers to understand their travel experience and met Metro employees working on the network. The minister also inspected the Chingrighata project site, where he praised the pace of construction after reviewing the recently completed viaduct work. During the visit, he announced that around 60 new-generation Metro trains will be added to Kolkata's network over the next four to five years.

Vaishnaw also highlighted the expansion of the city's Metro system, noting that around 45 kilometres of new Metro lines have been commissioned in and around Kolkata since 2014, compared with 28 kilometres developed before that period. The latest tunnelling success adds further momentum to these efforts and moves the Joka–Esplanade corridor closer to serving commuters.