TBM Makes Breakthrough at Delhi Metro’s Bhikaji Cama Place Station
If I’ve got my math right, this is the 11th TBM breakthrough in Delhi this year!
Yesterday afternoon, the S803 Tunnel Boring Machine operated by a crew from Pratibha-FEMC for contract CC-18 of the Delhi Metro’s Phase 3 project made a breakthrough at the Bhikaji Cama Place station! This Earth Pressure Balance TBM with a diameter of 6.61m was commissioned from the RK Puram shaft on the Ring Road in December 2015 and completed building the roughly 400m long up-line tunnel of the new 58.59 km Pink line which will encircle the city when ready in mid-2017.
Note: With this breakthrough, the up-line tunnel between RK Puram – Bhikaji Cama Place – Sarojini Nagar – INA – South Extension – Lajpat Nagar – Vinobhapuri is now ready!
Satellite view of the Bhikaji Cama Place station’s west shaft where the breakthrough took place:
Alignment of the RK Puram shaft to Bhikaji Cama Place section – view Delhi Metro map & information
Photo Copyright: Rajesh Rathod
Photo Copyright: Rajesh Rathod
Now only 5 more TBM breakthroughs are left to be made on the Pink line. The two TBMs stuck at Rameshwar Nagar from Azadpur will be excavated and pulled out from the mid-shaft after the ones from the Majlis Park shaft make a breakthrough.
Red: Yet to Begin ; Green: Under Construction
| Contract | Contractor | Origin | Destination | Tunnel |
| CC-04 | CEC – CICI | Majlis Park shaft | Azadpur mid-shaft | Down-line & Up-line |
| CC-18 | Pratibha – FEMC | RK Puram shaft | Bhikaji Cama Place | Down-line |
| CC-24 | J Kumar – CRTG | Ashram | Vinobhapuri | Up-line & Down-line |
For a comprehensive report with progress made on all lines’ tunnels, please see my April 2016 Tunneling Update.
For more updates, check out the Delhi section of The Metro Rail Guy!
– TMRG
When is the the breakthrough on the Nehru Enclave down line tunnel going to take place?
There’s a small chance of it taking place in the last couple days of this month. If not then, then definitely in the 1st week of May.
Can dmrc acquire land in trilokpuri before December 2016 because they are starting trials between lajpat nagar and ip extension in december.
Hi, I don’t know and neither do I believe they are certain of doing so. We’ll have to wait for it to be announced.