It may be noted that Vaitarna-1, which began its mission on December 4, became the first TBM on Metro-3 corridor to complete its entire drive of tunnelling
MMRC engineers and contractors during the breakthrough event. Pic/ Ranjeet Jadhav
In an all-important development related to the Colaba Bandra SEEPZ underground metro line three, Vaitarna - the Tunnel Boring Machine of package 2 of the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro-3 corridor, has completed its longest downline tunnel drive of 3.814-km from Azad Maidan to Mumbai Central Metro Station.
It may be noted that Vaitarna-1, which began its mission on December 4, became the first TBM on Metro-3 corridor to complete its entire drive of tunnelling. It completed its successful operation of 3.814 Km in a time span of 20 months at a mining average of 190 meters every month with 2720 rings. Vaitarna-1 made its way through hard basalt and breccia rock mass with some pockets of very low strength shale bands at average depths of below 20 metres from the road level. It marks an important milestone of the 33.5-km long underground Metro-3 corridor.
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This was the 15th TBM breakthrough witnessed in Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro-3 corridor. Package 2 being implemented by HCC- Mosmetrostroy JV is the first package of this project to complete one entire tunnel drive of their package.
Doing the work was not an easy job as there were many operational challenges encountered during this drive as Vaitarna-1 went past many heritage, old and dilapidated buildings. In all, there are 169 structures in the influential zone including 14 high rise buildings and 28 heritage structures. "The task was challenging and daunting. However, successful completion makes us more confident of completing the project as scheduled. We are also progressing well at station works simultaneously”, said Ashwini Bhide, Managing Director, MMRC.
Mumbai Central Metro Station on Metro-3 corridor will provide direct and easy access to two major commuting hubs Mumbai Central Depot and Mumbai Central Suburban and Mainline railway station. MMRC, as of today, has completed 31 km of tunnelling with 17 Tunnel Boring Machines commissioned through ten TBM shafts. The event was graced by Ajoy Mehta, Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, Anil Kumar Gupta, General Manager, Western Railway and other Senior Officials of Western Railway.
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