L&T Lowers Patna Metro’s 2nd TBM Buddha at Moin-ul-Haq

Larsen & Toubro today lowered DZ1091 – their 2nd of four tunnel boring machines for 30.91 km Patna Metro Phase 1 project’s 8 km underground Package PC-03 connecting Rajendra Nagar – Patna Junction Railway Station.

This 6.65m diameter EPB machine, nicknamed Buddha, by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. (CRCHI) passed factory acceptance tests in the summer of 2022 and arrived in Patna in December 2022.

Just like TBM Mahavir (DZ1090), which was commissioned on Friday, Buddha’s shields and cutterhead were assembled adjacent to Moin-ul-Haq Station’s site and lowered vertically into the launch shaft as one-unit in under 5.5 hours by Freight Wings using a strand jack “mega lift” system.

Per the tunneling plan, both machines will first bore 1494m long twin tunnels from Moin-ul-Haq Station towards Patna University Station.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had awarded L&T with 14.05 km Line-2’s Package PC-03’s Rs. 1989 crore contract in December 2021 with a 42 month deadline.

PC-03 will connect a ramp near Rajendra Nagar with Patna Junction Railway Station through TBM bored twin tunnels and 6 underground stations at Akashvani (formerly Dak Bungalow), Gandhi Maidan, PMCH, Patna University, Moin Ul Haq Stadium and Rajendra Nagar.

In the coming days, the machine will be moved horizontally on its cradle and lined up to head-wall’s eye-seal.

As shared earlier, L&T will deploy another 2 THI refurbished machines (S71 & S72) previously used for Ahmedabad Metro’s Phase 1, but now I hear they might be brand new ones from CRCHI. Stay tuned to see what happens!

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– TMRG