Afcons – SAM JV’s Agra Metro TBM Yamuna Records 1st Breakthrough

Afcons Infrastructure – SAM India Consortium this morning celebrated the first tunnel breakthrough by Robbins TBM 215-323 at Agra Fort Station of the 29.40 km Agra Metro Phase 1 project.

Nicknamed TBM Yamuna, this Ø6.52m diameter and 95m long Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) machine was the project’s 1st of 4 TBMs to be commissioned in February 2023 for constructing 14.25 km Line-1’s 7.93 km Package AGCC-02 between RBS College Ramp – Taj Mahal Ramp.

The machine built 239 rings (334m) from the crossover at Ramleela Maidan to Agra Fort in 77 days. This short distance reminds me of Pune Metro’s 1st breakthrough by TBM S78 from Range Hills Ramp to Agriculture College Shaft in 2020.

In Agra, TBM Yamuna along with another refurbished machine, TBM Ganga, will build roughly 3 kms of tunnels of the city’s 6 km priority corridor (Jama Masjid – Taj East Gate) with an aim to become operational by August 2024.

Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) had awarded Afcons – SAM Consortium with Package AGCC-02’s Rs. 1819.79 crore civil construction contract in March 2022 with a 48 month deadline.

Their section from chainage 3630.000 to 11564.485 consists of twin tunnels connecting 7 stations at Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Jama Masjid, SN Medical College, Agra College, Raja ki Mandi and RBS College.

If my calculations are right, a total of 14 breakthroughs are planned to be recorded by Afcons-Sam between RBS College Ramp – Taj Mahal Ramp.

A post-breakthrough drone fly-by posted by UPMRC can be viewed here on Twitter.

TBM Yamuna will now be dragged through Agra Fort’s station box and recommissioned for its second drive towards Taj Mahal Station.

Last Tuesday, Herrenknecht completed factory acceptance tests (FAT) near Chennai on TBM S-718C, the project’s third machine. On the same day, Afcons-Sam JV commissioned TBM Ganga to build the parallel tunnel from Ramleela Maidan to Agra Fort. If Yamuna’s progress is anything to go by, then Ganga should arrive at Agra Fort in June or early July.

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– TMRG