Tunnelling works suspended for East-West Metro project in India

The Kolkata East-West Metro, also known as Kolkata Metro Line 2, is a 17km-long railway currently under construction in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, in India. Of the 10.9km tunnels for Line 2, some 9.8km had been completed.

The Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation (KMCRCL) counsel said that works would be restarted only after being given the go-ahead from the court.

The cracks, supposedly due to the tunnelling work for the project, were visible in the houses near where construction work was taking place on 1 September.

The court will hear the matter again in mid September.

“Two buildings have collapsed. Hence, we have all unanimously decided that this should be properly and extensively examined by experts so that further, even after the work is complete, such incidents do not recur,” said chief minister Mamata Banerjee according to local media outlet IANS.

The key section of the project, between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade stations, is being constructed by the Afcons – Transtonnelstroy JV which is using two Herrenknecht EPBMs. The two machines started excavating on opposite sides of the river Hooghly and met under the river after 36 days. The twin tunnel will be 520m long.

The project has been under construction since 2009 and Line 2 is expected to be open to the public in phases from late up to 2020.