TBM ‘Durga’ completes tunnel breakthrough on Kolkata Metro Purple Line
Kolkata, July 10 (TNT): Kolkata Metro on Friday achieved a major milestone in the construction of the Joka-Esplanade Metro Corridor (Purple Line) with the successful breakthrough of Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) ‘Durga’ at Victoria Metro Station, completing the underground tunnel between Khidderpore and Victoria.
The tunnelling work, which commenced on July 10, 2025, was completed with high safety standards and minimal disruption to surface traffic, Metro authorities said.
The breakthrough is expected to accelerate work on the Joka-Esplanade corridor, which will enhance connectivity between south Kolkata and the city’s central business district, besides reducing travel time and road congestion.
The achievement follows another milestone recently recorded by Kolkata Metro with the completion of the 62-metre viaduct gap at Chingrighata on the Kavi Subhash-Airport (Orange Line) corridor, removing a major construction bottleneck.
During his recent visit to Kolkata, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed the progress of Metro expansion projects, travelled on the Metro from Jai Hind Bimanbandar to Noapara, interacted with passengers and Metro staff, and inspected the Chingrighata project site.
The Minister had announced the induction of around 60 new-generation Metro trains over the next four to five years and said 45 km of Metro network had been commissioned in and around Kolkata since 2014, compared with 28 km before 2014.
TNT KM
