TBMs ready for Lucknow Metro project

3 November 2016


India - The TBMs set to bore the Lucknow Metro are in transit. The two 6.52m-diameter Terratec EPBMs will bore the city’s Phase 1A north-south line. The project consists of twin 1,812m-long tunnels. The TBMs will be launched and received at ramps.

The 36-month, USD 1bn contract, which was awarded to Tata-Gulermak JV in April 2016, also includes the construction of three new underground stations at Hussainganj, State Secretariat (Sachivalaya) and Hazratganj.

The machines will be equipped in a soil configuration with tools that can be changed for 17” disc cutters to bore through diaphragm walls, and in case of unexpected obstacles.

The first TBM will arrive in November at the Sachivalaya worksite while the second will arrive in December. A spokesman for the manufacturer said: “The machines will initially be launched on twin 780m drives towards Hazratganj, where they will bore through local geology consisting of stiff to hard clayey silt and medium to dense silty sand, with an average overburden of 4m to 10m.

“Following the initial drives to Hazratganj – where the machines will pass beneath historic buildings in the Capital Plaza of Hazrat Ganj – the machines will return to the shaft at Sachivalaya and be deployed on their next, 613m-long, drives towards Hussainganj. From there, they will continue on a further 419m – crossing underneath the Haide Nalah canal – to the cut and cover ramp near Charbagh station.”

The tunnels will be lined with universal segmental rings in a 5+key configuration. The segments will be 275mm thick by 1,400mm long. Work on Phase 2 of the metro is due to begin in 2018.