Delhi Metro completes first tunnel of Phase-3 at Janpath station
The Delhi Metro on Thursday completed the tunnelling of the 909-metre-long Central Secretariat (CTST) - Janpath stretch. This was the first tunnel breakthrough of Phase-3.
The Delhi Metro on Thursday completed the tunnelling of the 909-metre-long Central Secretariat (CTST) - Janpath stretch. This was the first tunnel breakthrough of Phase-3.
The 30-ft tunnel boring machine (TBM) emerged at the Janpath metro station site.
The TBM was lowered in the Chelmsford Club shaft on January 31 and after assembling the TBM below the ground, the drive started on March 4.
The machine was driven by India’s first TBM operator Mohammad Ali. In phase 1 and 2, TBMs were operated by German operators. The tunnelling work till Janpath was scheduled to be completed by June 2012.
Two TBMs are simultaneously working on the nine-kilometre long Central Secretariat Kashmere gate section, which is likely to be opened by end-2014.
The TBM broke through from the south shaft of the Janpath Metro station close to the Chandralok building, said Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) sources.
"The tunnelling was done almost 18 metres below the earth's surface. The excavated earth was deposited at the Sarita Vihar Depot and forest land," said Anuj Dayal, spokesperson of DMRC.
Another TBM is working on the up line. The up line tunnel is 898-metre-long and is expected to breakthrough in another two months, he said.
Sudhir Krishna, chairman of DMRC and secretary of union Urban Development ministry was present at the site during the breakthrough along with Mangu Singh, Managing Director, DMRC. The Central Secretariat-Mandi House corridor that will have two stations is scheduled to be ready for operation by July 2014.