Metro rail gets its first tunnel boring machine

The first of the tunnel boring machines (TBM) arrived in the city at Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) from China on Monday.

The 700 tonne 100 metre long machine will help the MMRC in commencing tunnelling work at Naya Nagar in Mahim.

The MMRC executing the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 underground corridor, plans to start tunnelling work for the underground corridor in October and subsequently make the first phase of Metro-3 between Seepz and Airport, operational in 2021.

Procured from German major Herrenknecht AG, the TBM was delivered on Monday from its manufacturing facility in Guangzhou, China. For now, the TBM will be kept temporarily at the casting yard of Metro-3 in Wadala.

According to a statement issued by MMRC, the highly-mechanised Earth Pressure Balance device will be used to construct tunnels with circular cross section. Front shield, middle shield, cutter head, erector, screw conveyor and tail-skin shield, the different part of machines will be assembled in a period of 45 days.

The machine is one of the three tunnel boring machines that would be used to construct 6.10 km long tunnels between Dharavi and Siddhivinayak Metro stations with Shitla Devi and Dadar stations in between in October this year.

“With the arrival of our first TBM we have kicked-off our tunnelling activity, which is another most critical part of this project. In a period of next two years’ total of 17 TBM’s will be deployed for constructing the 33.5 km twin tunnels,” Ashwini Bhide, managing director, MMRC.