KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): The work on Kolkata Metro‘s Purple Line progressed as Larsen & Toubro (L&T) deployed the TBM Durga from Kidderpore to construct a tunnel on Line 3 (Purple Line) of the Kolkata Metro Project. The Purple line spans 15.215km between Joka – Esplanade via 12 stations.
TBM (S-1410A), nicknamed Durga, will construct a 1723m tunnel between Kidderpore Station and Victoria Station in the first phase. The breakthrough of TBM Durga is expected by May 2026. This work comes under Purple Line’s underground package UG1, which spans 5.05km between Mominpur and Esplanade.
Along with TBM Durga, TBM Divya (S-1411A) will start working from the same shaft for the downline tunnel. Beyond Park Street, the tunnelling will transition to the conventional Cut & Cover method.
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) awarded the ₹2,447 crore civil construction contract for the 5.05 km underground Package UG1 of the Kolkata Metro project to Larsen & Toubro (L&T), following its selection as the lowest bidder in June 2023.
This section, featuring twin tunnels, will include four underground stations:
- Kidderpore
- Victoria Memorial
- Park Street
- Esplanade
Upon becoming operational, the Esplanade station on Line 3 will represent Kolkata’s first interchange station serving three metro lines. This facility will enable seamless transfers between Line-1 (Blue Line: Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash) and Line-2 (Green Line: Howrah Maidan to Sector V), which spans 16.34 kilometers.
