Afcons Begins Work on Bangalore Metro’s Underground Pink Line
Workers from Afcons Infrastructure have mobilized machinery and started full-fledged construction work for building a 3.655 km section of Bangalore Metro’s 21.386 km Line-4 (Reach 6 / Pink Line) which’ll connect Nagawara – Gottigere (Kalena Agrahara).
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) had awarded Afcons Infrastructure with a Rs. 1526.33 crore contract for Package RT-01 (Dairy Circle Ramp – National Military School) of the 73.92 km Bangalore Metro Phase 2 project exactly a year ago on June 11, 2019.
Since then, Afcons has hired engineers and workers for different positions, mobilized machinery at sites across Bannerghatta Road, started setting up their casting yard and performed trial trench works at the Dairy Circle South Ramp. A separate contractor, BR Chawla, has been engaged to perform demolition works at Lakkasandra Station and other sites along Afcons’ package.
Afcons plans to deploy 3 tunnel boring machines (TBMs), most likely sourced from Herrenknecht from what I hear, to build 8 tunnels on this package between the Dairy Circle South Ramp, Dairy Circle Station, Lakkasandra Station (formerly Mico Industries), Langford Town Station and National Military School Station (formerly Vellara Junction).
Here are some nice images from Twitter follower @WF_Watcher (Whitefield Woes) shot on Friday at the Dairy Circle Station’s site. It appears that workers have started building a guide-wall around the station’s site.
Short Video from the site. pic.twitter.com/nOgu8ObhHC
— Whitefield Woes (@WF_Watcher) June 12, 2020
This Dairy Circle – MG Road section of the line was in the news last week over the felling of trees at night. Per BMRCL, they had obtained permission to axe 165 trees at various locations, but local citizens and activists raised their voices for “not being consulted” and against BMRCL for “not following the due process of law”. More on that can be read in these Deccan Herald and The Hindu articles.
For more updates, check out the Bangalore section of The Metro Rail Guy!
– TMRG
Will metro go above or below(undergrond) at dairy circle?
It will go underground
By the looks of it, it looks like L&T and Afcons might finish of the underground work before the Simplex completes the elevated stretch on the Gottigere Nagavara line.
A quick comparison from the BMRCL newsletter for March 2020 shows that Simplex has been able to complete only 26% and 56% on reach 6-elev and 3C respectively. In comparison ITD-Cem India JV has been able to complete 64% and 75% on reach 1A and 1B. This despite that the contract for all 4 stretches being awarded within 7 months of each other.
@TMRG. Do you think BMRCL might pull the plug on Simplex on the Gottigere – Dairy Circle stretch and call for fresh tenders and award it to others contractors or call for tenders for the unfinished parts?
There was an article in BM about the financial turmoil Simplex is in December 2019. https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/cover-story/namma-metro-has-a-complex-worry-called-simplex/amp_articleshow/72946304.cms
BMRCL should no longer wait to pull the plug on Simplex. Bangalore should not be held hostage for these incompetent Id**ts.
Agreed! If not already done, BMRCL should set fresh deadlines for key milestones. If those are not met, then just pull the plug. MMRDA in Mumbai was extremely quick to realize Simplex was not performing, cut the chord in Jan and retendered out Line-7’s work.
Simplex is still alive at some sites (see tweet below), but literally everyone of my BLR followers on Twitter has noticed the lack of progress.
https://twitter.com/TheMetroRailGuy/status/1269988497584095232
Any idea when ITD will commence tunnelling work between Tannery road and Nagawara?
Seems like RT-04 is the only reach on Line-4 where tunnelling is yet to start, since L&T and Afcons have started on the other three..
ITD was last seen by a follower in Feb conducting soil tests near Arabic College. I’m trying to get an update on where things stand with them.
Thanks TMRG!
Metro rail work should complete near Tin factory ASAP.
Based on current progress, can I please know when will Biappanahalli to Whitefield line be completed ?
No sooner than mid-2022 at this time.
Work at Tin Factory (between KR Puram and Baiyappanahalli) hasn’t progressed much as they need to acquire land for 2 temples and then expand the road. They were also redesigning the line into a double-decker viaduct for vehicles and metro trains.
Some recent images of that stretch:
https://twitter.com/gangarajuharsha/status/1268956587349037056
Thanks TMRG
On the Gottigere-Nagawara line, where exactly would the metro go underground? read some reports that the metro goes underground just before the Dairy circle flyover. for this the ramp has to start much before. Where exactly would the underground ramp begin? would it be in the fire brigade area where they have been cutting trees all the way till dairy circle?
See the Phase 2 map – start of underground section at the ramp’s northern end is fairly accurate (+- 10m)
https://themetrorailguy.com/bangalore-metro-phase-2-information-map/
Thanks TMRG.
However, I think the location in the map may not be accurate. For instance: the upcoming tavarakere station shown in the map is actually way ahead (probably 300 – 400 meters) in reality. Not sure if there is an updated map with markings.
BMRCL never revealed the elevated stretch’s station locations, so I marked them with an asterix and added a “tentative location” in the description.
Thanks for pointing its location out. Using updated satellite imagery, I’ve now corrected its location along with others’.
You can also refer to BMRCL’s map here for the ramp’s location: https://themetrorailguy.com/2017/07/14/bmrcl-publishes-alignment-of-gottigere-nagawara-lines-ug-section/
Ramp starts at Salarpuria Infinity while the tunnel starts in front of Karmika Bhavan.
Thanks a lot TMRG! Super helpful!
Hi TMRG!
I wanted to share this article with you:
https://www.deccanherald.com/city/bengaluru-infrastructure/key-metro-lines-dropped-for-elevated-corridor-project-725388.html
Apparently, the Hebbal-Carmelaram and Hosakerahalli-Marathahalli lines were scrapped all together! I really hope this isn’t a final decision. It makes zero sense whatsoever.
Is there any chance for these two to be back on the table?
Do you have any idea or inside-scoop as to what Phase 3 has in store?
Appreciate your posts!
The article has a big question mark in the title itself, so not a final decision.
Phase 3 plans are all still up in the air. Lines that may have been dropped, could make a come back. New lines might get proposed etc. etc.
For a clearer picture, we’ll have to wait until about 2023-24 I’d say.