Afcons Inaugurates Delhi Metro Silver Line TBM Amrit’s Tunneling Work

Afcons Infrastructure on Monday inaugurated Tunnel Boring Machine 372 (Amrit) at Airforce Launch Shaft of Delhi Metro’s 23.622 km Silver Line which will connect Aerocity – Tughalakabad via 16 stations.

This refurbished 6.5m diameter Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) machine by Robbins is the first of four machines to be deployed by Afcons for building twin tunnels on the 65.1 km Delhi Metro Phase 4 project‘s 6.981 km Package DC-07 between Sangam Vihar Station and Sarita Vihar Depot.

The machine had passed factory acceptance tests (FAT) at Robbins’ yard in Gurgaon in February 2023, while Afcons’ team cast the Airforce Launch Shaft’s base slab, just east of Sangam Vihar Station, in April to receive the machine. The team began lowering its parts into the shaft in early May.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation had awarded Afcons with Package DC-07’s Rs. 1669.20 crore contract in January 2022.

Afcons’ 6.981 km Package DC-07 will connect Sangam Vihar Station’s east-end and Sarita Vihar Depot via 3 stations at Maa Anandmayee Marg, Tughlakabad Railway Colony, and Tughlakabad where it will form an interchange with the Violet Line’s station built in Phase 2.

TBM Amrit will first bore a 2.67 km long tunnel from the Airforce Launch Shaft to Maa Anandmayee Marg station – the longest tunneling drive in Phase 4.

In the coming days, TBM Amrit’s cradle will be pushed to make Amrit’s cutterhead align with the head-wall’s eye seal. Installation of temporary rings within the shaft and initial drive will follow.

When that happens, Amrit will become the 2nd of at least 10 machines of the Silver Line to start tunneling. Back in March 2023, Larsen & Toubro working on 6.51 km Package DC-09 (Kishangarh – Saket G Block)started tunneling works from Chhatarpur Station.

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

– TMRG