Afcons’ Delhi Metro TBM Disha Records Breakthrough at Tughlakabad Railway Colony

Afcons Infrastructure on Tuesday celebrated Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Disha’s first breakthrough at Tughlakabad Railway Colony Station of Delhi Metro’s 23.622 km Golden Line which will connect Aerocity – Tughalakabad via 16 stations.

TBM Disha (S-1264B) is a refurbished Herrenknecht Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) machine which was previously deployed with an Indian-flag themed cutterhead as TBM Varada to build tunnels on Bangalore Metro Phase 2 Pink Line’s Package RT-01 between March 2021 and September 2022.

The machine was refurbished in Butibori, on the outskirts of Nagpur, and passed factory acceptance tests (FAT) in October 2023. It was then brought to Delhi and launched from the Golden Line’s Tughlakabad Station in November 2024 westward for its first assignment to build a 959m tunnel towards Tughlakabad Railway Colony Station.

Per DMRC’s press release, the new tunnel with 566 rings has been constructed at an average depth of 18 meters.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had awarded Afcons with Package DC-07’s Rs. 1669.20 crore contract in January 2022 with a 42 month deadline.

Afcons’ 6.981 km Package DC-07 connects Sangam Vihar Station’s east-end and Sarita Vihar Depot via 3 stations at Maa Anandmayee Marg, Tughlakabad Railway Colony, and Tughlakabad where it will form an interchange with the Violet Line’s station built in Phase 2.

DMRC expects the parallel tunnel by Robbins 364 to be completed by the end of this month.

With this development, a total of 12 tunnel breakthroughs have been recorded so far for the Golden Line. From east to west: 4 by Afcons for Package DC-07, 6 by L&T for Package DC-09, and 2 by J Kumar on Package DC-08.

For more updates, check out the Delhi Metro section or my Home Page! Sign up for free instant email notifications on new posts over here. Like this post? Get early-access to all updates and support the site over here.

– TMRG