1st TBM for Delhi – Meerut RRTS Package 8 Starts Tunneling

Afcons Infrastructure on Monday commissioned TBM Sudarshan 8.1 – their first tunnel boring machine for the 82.15 km Delhi – Meerut RRTS project‘s 5.68 km underground Package 8 at Bhaisali Station.

This Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) machine along with 2 others in Meerut city will build 6 tunnels between Meerut Central – Bhaisali – Begumpul.

Terratec had completed factory acceptance tests (FAT) in Q4 2021 for Afcons’ 3 new 7.51m diameter TBMs S88 (Sudarshan 8.1), S89 (Sudarshan 8.2) and S90 (Sudarshan 8.3).

Afcons was awarded Package 8’s Rs. 1529.10 crore contract in November 2020 with a 1310 day (3.6 year) deadline. Their scope includes constructing twin tunnels from Brahampuri DN Ramp to Begumpul UP Ramp with 3 underground stations at Meerut Central, Bhaisali & Begumpul by cut & cover method.

Per the tunneling plan, TBM S88 and later S89 will build the tunnels from Bhaisali Station towards Meerut Central Station, a distance of 1823.39 meters. Along the way, the machine will make a pit-stop at a mid-shaft located 695.85 meters south of Bhaisali.

Afcons hopes to complete tunneling on this section by October 11. Whether that happens or not, we shall find out!

With this development, 2 out of 7 TBMs for the entire project are now on their way. Back in February, STEC commissioned their first TBM from Anand Vihar Station for Package 4 – see details and images here.

As shared earlier, the project’s TBMs with a diameter of 7.51m will be slightly larger than typical metro TBMs (ranging 6.45m to 6.68m) to allow the line’s Alstom semi high-speed & MRTS trains to operate with sufficient clearance.

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– TMRG