BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yeddiyurappa on Thursday launched tunnelling operations for Metro Phase-II from the grounds of Abdul Bari's High School near the upcoming Cantonment Metro Station. At the press of a button, Tunnel Boring Machine 'Urja' formally began the tunnelling job for the 2.88 km Reach-3 stretch between Cantonment and Shivaji Nagar Metro stations.
This stretch is part of the 13.9 km underground corridor from South Ramp near Jayanagar Fire station to North Ramp near Nagawara underground Metro Station with 12 underground stations and twin tunnels running to 10.37 km.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Managing Director Ajay Seth billed it as a milestone. "It marks the resumption of tunnelling in the City which stopped in 2017 after completion of the Underground Corridor of Phase-I," he said.
Chief Public Relations Officer BL Yashvanth Chavan said the commissioning has been completed. "Preparatory works are in progress now. The first task itself will be breaking down a rock face, set to begin soon."
According to an official release, "The expected geology in this tunnel section is about 250m in hard rock, 350m in mixed ground conditions and 255m in soil."
Two TBMs will be deployed to complete this underground stretch with 'Vindhya' to be commissioned shortly after Urja advances some distance in drilling. The machines have been procured along with two others from China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation (CRCHI) with Larsen & Turbo Ltd contracted with completing the Reach-3 package
The CM was accompanied by Deputy CM N Aswath Narayan and Revenue Minister R Ashoka during the launch. The deadline for completion of Reach-6 is mid-2024.