Afcons Infrastructure marked a significant milestone today as Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Tejas achieved its first breakthrough at the Maa Anandmayee Marg Station. This breakthrough is part of Delhi Metro’s 23.622 km Golden Line (Line-10), which connects Aerocity to Tughlakabad through 16 stations.
Background of TBM Tejas
TBM Tejas (S-711) is a refurbished Herrenknecht Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) machine. It was previously used in Chennai Metro’s Phase 1 project from 2014 to 2018. In November 2023, TBM Tejas began tunneling work for Delhi Metro Phase 4’s 6.981 km Package DC-07. This package connects Sangam Vihar Station and Sarita Vihar Depot.
Key Milestones of TBM Tejas
TBM Tejas was commissioned to construct the down-line tunnel from Airforce Launch Shaft, located near Sangam Vihar Station. Over 14 months, it traveled 2.674 km to reach Maa Anandmayee Marg Station. The machine achieved an average excavation rate of 191 meters per month, tunneling through mixed soil and hard rock strata.
Afcons Infrastructure was awarded the Rs. 1669.20 crore contract for Package DC-07 in January 2022. The project’s deadline is 42 months. This package includes three stations: Maa Anandmayee Marg, Tughlakabad Railway Colony, and Tughlakabad. The Tughlakabad station will serve as an interchange with the Violet Line, which was built during Phase 2.
Future Plans for TBM Tejas
Tunneling for the parallel up-line tunnel was completed in December 2024 by TBM Amrit (Robbins 372). Both TBM Tejas and TBM Amrit will now focus on building twin tunnels between Maa Anandmayee Marg and Tughlakabad Railway Colony. This section is estimated to be 810 meters long.
Afcons has also completed casting approximately 8,300 tunnel ring segments for Package DC-07 at its Mundka casting yard. These segments will be used to line the tunnels.
Progress on the Golden Line
With this breakthrough, the Golden Line project has recorded six tunnel breakthroughs so far. Afcons has completed two breakthroughs for Package DC-07, while L&T has completed four for Package DC-09. No breakthroughs have been reported yet for Package DC-08, which is being handled by J Kumar.
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