Bangalore Metro – December 2015 Tunneling Update

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) recently released their December 2015 newsletter which can be accessed here! Let’s first start with some new images and then get dive into analyzing the data contained within it.

One of the Purple line’s tunnels between Cubbon Park & Magadi Road stations – Photo Copyright: BMRCL

View from the City Railway station on the Purple line – Photo Copyright: BMRCL

Chickpet station on the Green line – Photo Copyright: BMRCL

KR Market station on the Green line – Photo Copyright: BMRCL

One of the platforms at the Majestic interchange station – Photo Copyright: BMRCL

The tunneling data in the newsletter was recorded at the start of the month and as such does not reflect recent progress made in the last 9 days. However, since data from the November newsletter is available, a valid comparison can be made to see the progress made over the past month (November) with the month before (October).

As a reminder, tunneling on the Purple line’s underground section between Magadi Road and Cubbon Park was completed in March 2014 and trial runs recently began!

The Green line’s tunnels from the North Ramp to the South Ramp are being constructed by a JV of Coastal & TTS JV with some help from CEC-CICI. Here’s a map displaying the incomplete Green line’s underground section between the North Ramp & Chickpet:

The four arrows represent the direction of tunneling by the TBMs on the Green line’s underground section

Here’s a table which compares progress made by the 4 TBMs as per the data reported in the newsletters:

• Maroon Arrow – The Margarita TBM made solid progress in the first week of November and made a breakthrough at the North Ramp on November 7.

• Green Arrow – The Godavari TBM had a new cutterhead installed on it in late July and restarted tunneling towards Majestic in mid September. Since the November update, it has progressed by 75m which is excellent compared to its previous progress of only 5.50m in October.
Distance left – 512.50 meters

• Blue Arrow – The Kaveri TBM was launched from the Chickpet station in February 2015 and has covered only 18m since the November update. In the November update, it had covered 43.50m and has considerably slowed down its march towards the Majestic interchange. At this poor rate, it would take another 4-5 months to make a breakthrough.
Distance left – 205.50 meters

• Orange Arrow – The Krishna TBM made a breakthrough at Chickpet station on August 31 from the KR (City) Market station (See: [Pics] TBM Krishna Finally Makes a Breakthrough at Chickpet) after a slow and tiring journey of 22 months. It was supposed to have gone through repairs/maintenance, and put back in action for one last journey in 45 days, but even at the time of writing this update which is exactly 100 days since the breakthrough, it hasn’t yet commenced tunneling.
Distance Left – 747 meters

As you can see above – in the last month, apart from TBM Godavari making solid progress, the rest 2 TBMs (Kaveri & Krishna) have made poor to no progress. If TBM Krishna is to take the same amount of time as TBM Kaveri to tunnel the parallel tunnel, then in all likelihood, tunneling on Phase 1’s underground section will only be completed by early 2017.

For more updates on Bangalore’s Metro, check out the Bangalore section of The Metro Rail Guy!

– TMRG