DMRC achieves toughest tunneling task

The tunnel boring machines, which were pressed into service in the tunneling task on the 38 km Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden Magenta corridor of the Phase III of the DMRC, have successfully completed a 1.25 kilometre-long tunnel between Vasant Vihar and Munirka, said an official spokesperson. As a matter of fact, work on this tunnel, which has 904 rings and constructed about 20 metres below the earth surface, started in October 2015 and with this, the DMRC has completed one of the largest tunneling projects in the world. The quantum of underground work in Phase 3 can be gauged from the fact that in the last phase, only 35 km were underground and in Phase 1, the underground component was 13 km. The corridor was fraught with challenges as it passed beneath the rocky Aravallis requiring special boring machines and talent to complete the task. Moreover, the new tunnels passed below already operational elevated viaducts of the Delhi Metro at three locations (at Janakpuri West below Blue Line, near IGI Airport below Airport Line and near Kalkaji Mandir below Violet Line). At Hauz Khas, the new tunnel also passed below the already operational tunnel of Yellow Line. Construction of a 1.4 km-long tunnel between Shankar Vihar and Vasant Vihar on this section was also fraught with multiple challenges, he added.