TBM Shields Lowered for Delhi Metro’s Pink Line at RKP

Workers from the Pratibha-FEMC JV yesterday lowered the front and middle shields of a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) at the RK Puram shaft to bore the Delhi Metro’s new 58.596 km Pink line’s down-line tunnel! The TBM from here will bore a roughly 400 m long tunnel towards the Bhikaji Cama Place station, the last on the Delhi Metro Phase 3’s CC-18 section from the RK Puram shaft to Lajpat Nagar.

Satellite imagery of the RK Puram shaft from where the TBM will be launched:

Location & alignment of the RK Puram shaft to Bhikaji Cama Place section of Delhi Metro’s Pink line – view Delhi Metro map

TBM’s middle shield being lowered – Photo Copyright: Suresh Yadav

And here comes the TBM’s front shield as well – Photo Copyright: MD Arman

Photo Copyright: MD Arman

Over the next two weeks, the team will continue lowering other parts of the TBM such as the cutterhead, segment erector, back-up gantry and assemble them to commission it on or around February 10. From there on, it’ll take anywhere from 2 to 4 months for the TBM to reach Bhikaji Cama Place.

As a reminder, the TBM on the parallel up-line started tunneling in December and is expected to reach Bhikaji Cama Place in February/March. Once this TBM on the down-line is commissioned, only 2 more TBMs will remain to be commissioned on the entire Pink line – both in the CC-04 section at the mouth of the ever so important Mukundpur depot.

Red: Yet to Begin ; Green: In Progress

For a more detailed report with progress made on all lines’ tunnels, please see my January 2016 Tunneling Update.

For more updates on the Delhi Metro’s Phase 3, check out the Delhi section of The Metro Rail Guy!

– TMRG