Patna Metro’s 1st Tunnel Boring Machine Assembled by L&T

Larsen & Toubro this week assembled DZ1090 – the 1st of four tunnel boring machines for 30.91 km Patna Metro Phase 1 project’s 8 km underground Package PC-03 connecting Rajendra Nagar – Patna Junction Railway Station.

This 6.65m diameter EPB machine, nicknamed Mahavir, by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. (CRCHI) had passed factory acceptance tests in the summer of 2022 and arrived in Patna in November 2022.

In the interest of time and due to space constraints, the TBM’s shields and cutterhead have been assembled adjacent to Moin-ul-Haq Station’s site, instead of inside the TBM launch shaft as is typically the case.

In the coming days it will be lifted, transported horizontally and lowered vertically into the launch shaft as one-unit by Freight Wings using a strand jack “mega lift” system as witnessed recently at Delhi’s Chhatarpur Station.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had awarded L&T with 14.05 km Line-2’s Package PC-03’s Rs. 1989 crore contract in December 2021 with a 42 month deadline.

PC-03 will connect a ramp near Rajendra Nagar with Patna Junction Railway Station through TBM bored twin tunnels and 6 underground stations at Akashvani (formerly Dak Bungalow), Gandhi Maidan, PMCH, Patna University, Moin Ul Haq Stadium and Rajendra Nagar.

L&T’s tunneling plan is a little sketchy to me, but I hear this machine along with another CRCHI machine will build tunnels from Moin-ul-Haq north-eastwards towards PMCH.

In addition L&T will deploy 2 THI machines (S71 & S72) previously used for Ahmedabad Metro Phase 1. I hear they will likely be deployed to build the tunnels between Patna Junction and PMCH. Stay tuned…

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– TMRG