Surat Metro’s TBM Narmada Records Breakthrough at Central Warehouse Station

Gulermak – Sam India Builtwell JV on Tuesday celebrated tunnel boring machine (TBM) S78’s breakthrough at Central Warehouse Station of Surat Metro Phase 1 project’s 22.77 km Line-1 (Sarthana – Dream City).

This was S78 (Narmada)’s second tunnel breakthrough and overall the third breakthrough for 3.46 km Package CS2 / UG1 connecting Kapodra – Surat Railway Station.

S78 is a refurbished Terratec earth pressure balance (EPB) machine and had completed its first assignment in January 2024 to build a 1.5 km tunnel for the down-line from Kapodra to Labheshwar Chowk. That breakthrough was “hidden” as soil excavation was still underway, so this the first time we’re seeing S78’s face after it started its journey in December 2022.

The machine mined through Labheshwar Chowk Station’s box and then traveled roughly 600m to Central Warehouse’s eastern shaft in 3 months. Per Gulermak’s manager Deniz Buyukgokmen, S78 has so far erected 1642 precast rings to build a 2298m long tunnel.

Photo by Deniz Buyukgokmen

Gulermak – Sam India JV’s S78 (Narmada) and S94 (Tapi) in Surat will build a total of 6 tunnels for the 3.46 km Package CS2 / UG1 which was awarded in March 2021 by Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC). Their scope also includes the construction of 3 stations at Kapodra, Labheshwar Chowk and Central Warehouse.

Route of Surat Metro’s underground section from Chowk Bazar – Surat Railway Station – Kapodra with the indicative location of stations en route – view Surat Metro Phase 1 info & route map
Photo by Deniz Buyukgokmen
Photo by Binod Kumar
Photo by Deniz Buyukgokmen

S78 will now be dragged through Central Warehouse Station and be redeployed for its third and final assignment to build a 388m to Surat Railway Station’s eastern shaft.

TBM S94 (Tapi) is trailing behind S78 by a few weeks and also arrived at Labheshewar Chowk in January 2024, so we should hear about its 2nd breakthrough sometime in the 2nd half of April. Stay tuned!

For more updates, check out the Surat 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

written by

Global traveler who prefers mass rapid transit

4 Responses to "Surat Metro’s TBM Narmada Records Breakthrough at Central Warehouse Station"

  1. Harvesp Variava says:

    What about Surat metro second underground package from Surat railway station to chowk bazar???. No breakthrough news till now. Is the tunnelling going on or they have not even started????? And if not started then why it is taking so long????? Someone told me it is because Western Railway has not given permission to dig under its Surat railway station (lines). Is this true???

    Reply
    • TMRG says:

      Current tunneling status remains unknown to me. If I’m not mistaken, those machines will tunnel through and be retrieved directly from Chowk Bazar Station. Along the way they’ll make hidden breakthroughs at Maskati Hospital.

      Reply
      • Ashish Binani says:

        I am PAN India non trade supplier of cement.
        Please give me a chance to supply cement for your projects.
        I have brands like SHREE Cement ACC, Ambuja and JK Lakshmi

        Reply
  2. JustAnotherEngineer says:

    Second package TBMs are at Maskati Hospital Station but they will do hidden breakthroughs as the station is not excavated yet.

    Also, Labheshwar Chowk Station to Central Warehouse Station to Surat Railway Station TBM sections are almost half length of the other TBM sections.

    Yes second package had TBM stops due to approval/disapproval bureaucracy.

    Reply

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