L&T’s Chennai Metro TBM S1327A Passes Factory Tests

Tunnel boring machine manufacturer Herrenknecht this weekend completed factory acceptance tests (FAT) on S-1327A – their 1st of 2 new machines for Package TU02 of the 118.9 km Chennai Metro Phase 2 project.

This 100m long Ø6.65m earth pressure balance (EPB) machine will be deployed by Larsen & Toubro along with 7 other TBMs to construct approximately 12 km twin tunnels (total 24 km) on the new 45.813 km Line-3 between Kellys and Taramani Road Junction stations.

L&T was awarded Chennai Metro Phase 2’s Rs. 2385 crore contract by CMRL for Package TU-02 in May 2021 with a 42 month deadline.

Scope of TU02: Construction of approximately 12 km twin bored tunnels (total = 24 km) from Kellys Station to Taramani Road Junction and the construction of diaphragm walls, entry/exit structures of Chetpet station, Royapettah Government Hospital Station, Thiruvanmiyu Station, and part diaphragm wall of Greenways Road Station, including launching and retrieval shafts at the above stations.

L&T’s tunneling plan with 8 TBMs remains unknown to me at this time. If someone reading this is aware, then leave a comment below or shoot me a message via the Contact page.

The other new machine in Herrenknecht’s pipeline will likely have a serial number of S-1327B. L&T will in addition deploy 4 new CRCHI machines and 2 refurbished Robbins machines from Mumbai Metro Line-3’s Package UGC-01. Both machines’ parts are currently stationed at L&T’s Tunnelling Excellence Academy near Kanchipuram.

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– TMRG