Afcons’ 1st Kanpur Metro TBM Azad Starts Tunneling

Afcons Infrastructure in September quietly commissioned their first tunnel boring machine, TBM Azad (S-640B), for constructing Kanpur Metro’s underground package KNPCC-06 (Nayaganj Station – Transport Nagar Ramp).

This Herrenknecht Earth Pressure Balance machine is Kanpur Metro Phase 1 project’s third TBM to be deployed so far for constructing 23.785 km Line-1 between IIT Kanpur and Naubasta.

The machine had previously been deployed by Afcons to build Kolkata Metro’s 16.34 km Line-2 where it passed under the Hooghly River in June 2017. It was then refurbished at Afcons’ yard in Butibori, Maharashtra where it passed factory acceptance tests (FAT) in May 2023.

Afcons’ team started lowering TBM Azad’s parts into Kanpur Central Station’s shaft in August 2023. For its first assignment, Azad has started excavating and building a roughly 1250m long underground tunnel from Kanpur Central Station towards Nayaganj Station.

The machine has so far built at least 13 rings (1 ring is 1.4m wide) for its initial drive. Its back-up gantry will be lowered and attached later for the main drive.

Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) had awarded Afcons – SAM JV with 4.65 km KNPCC-06’s contract in March 2022 with a 36 month deadline and value of Rs. 1087.67 crore (INR 1062,02,00,000 + EURO 29,00,000).

This section connects Nayaganj Station and Transport Nagar Ramp via 3 underground stations at Kanpur Central, Jhakarkatti and Transport Nagar.

Afcons is getting ready to commission their 2nd machine, S-639B known as TBM Vidyarthi, later this month to build the parallel tunnel. Its parts were lowered into the same shaft at Kanpur Central in September.

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– TMRG