Afcons Lowers Kanpur Metro’s TBM S640B at Kanpur Central

Afcons Infrastructure on Friday started lowering and assembling their first tunnel boring machine (TBM) S-640B at Kanpur Central Station for constructing underground tunnels on Kanpur Metro’s Package KNPCC-06 between Nayaganj Station – Transport Nagar Ramp.

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

For its first assignment, it will dig and build a roughly 1250m tunnel from Kanpur Central metro station towards Nayaganj metro station.

Front shield -Photo by UPMRC

The machine had earlier been deployed in Kolkata by Afcons to build the down-line tunnel of Kolkata Metro’s 16.34 km Line-2 between Howrah Maidan – Esplanade. Along the way, it passed under the Hooghly River in June 2017.

It was then refurbished at Afcons’ yard in Butibori on the outskirts of Nagpur where it passed factory acceptance tests (FAT) in May 2023.

Photo by a follower

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.

Route of Kanpur Metro’s second underground section – view Kanpur Metro route map & information
Mid-shield going downPhoto by a follower
Mid-shield going down – Photo by a follower
Cutterhead getting lifted on Sunday – Photo by a follower

I expect the machine to be commissioned towards Nayaganj by mid-September. I haven’t yet heard of a nickname being assigned to it. The first two machines deployed by Gulermak – Sam India JV on Package KNPCC-05 (Permat Ramp – Nayaganj) have been named TBM Tatya (S92) and TBM Nana (S93).

S640B’s sister machine, S639B, had passed FAT in June, and I expect its parts to be lowered in September for tunneling and building the parallel tunnel.

For more updates, check out the Kanpur 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

One Response to "Afcons Lowers Kanpur Metro’s TBM S640B at Kanpur Central"

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