L&T’s Chennai Metro TBM DZ1040 Passes Factory Tests

Tunnel boring machine manufacturer China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (CRCHI) has completed factory acceptance tests (FAT) on DZ1040 – their 1st of 2 new machines for Package TU02 of the 118.9 km Chennai Metro Phase 2 project.

This 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 still 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.

With this development, at least 3 of L&T’s TBMs have passed FAT:

• Herrenknecht TBM S1326A in Tamil Nadu – see pictures
• Herrenknecht TBM S1327A in Tamil Nadu – see pictures
• CRCHI DZ1040 in China – this post!

FAT is now pending for 1 more new CRCHI machine. In addition, L&T will deploy 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.

For more updates, check out the Chennai section or my Home Page! Sign up for free instant email notifications on new posts over here. Like this post? See how you can get early-access to updates and support the site over here.

– TMRG