Bangalore Metro TBMs inaugurated
May 2011
Shani Wallis, TunnelTalk
- Two slurry TBMs supplied by Hitachi Zosen of Japan are being inaugurated today in India ahead of starting their work on the new metro system for the southern city of Bangalore. The two 6.44m diameter machines will be used by the CEC-Soma JV for excavation of the central section of the UG2 East West Line beneath the hearth of the city. They are needed to work through weathered rock and residual soils under a high watertable to complete 3.4km of twin tube running tunnels to connect four cut-and-cover underground stations.
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BMRC Managing Director N. Sivasaila (centre) joins managers of Bangalore Metro and CEC-Soma JV on the official handover visit to the Hitachi slurry TBMs in Japan
- The JV's design-build contract is part of a total 8.8km of underground work on the 42.3km Phase 1of the city's metro network, with the remainder elevated or at grade. A contract for the 3.3km of running tunnels for the North South Line is under evaluation by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRC) and its General Consultant, the RITES-OC-PBI-SYSTRA JV and looks set to be awarded to Indian tunnelling company Coastal with its technical tunnelling partner SELI. Another contract for the underground interconnecting station at Majestic is also being tendered.
- The CEC (Taiwan) and Soma (India) JV was awarded the UG2 contract in March 2010 after submitting the lowest financial bid for the larger of the two underground contracts at Rs 995.2 crores (US $210.2 million). The machine order with Hitachi Zosen includes delivery of the slurry separation plants. These are the first Hitachi Zosen TBMs and the first slurry TBM systems to be used in India.
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- With Bangalore and the project client BMRC, embarking on the first major tunnelling works under the city, the inauguration ceremony this week is accompanied with a day-long symposium designed to introduce BMRC managers and local city leaders to the main aspects, concerns and control systems associated with large scale tunnel and station excavation within a dense urban area.
- The CEC-Soma JV is continuing its tunnelling work in Bangalore after successfully completing contracts for the Metro system in Delhi where it used four EPBMs, two from Robbins and two from Herrenknecht, to complete running tunnels for the metro as well as the airport express link. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is an advisor to BMRC for its total 42.3km metro system which was approved for construction in April 2006 when Bangalore's regional Karnataka Government and the central Union Government agreed the Rs. 6,395 crores (US $1,351.15 million) investment, in 2006 prices. The project is being financed by local and central government by way of equity, subordinate debt and senior term debt.
- The sysmposium held on Saturday 21 May draws together experts and industry leaders from various parts of the globe (Table 1).
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Underground advance for Bangalore Metro - TunnelTalk, July 2010
Hitachi adds to overseas order book - TunnelTalk, Jan 2011
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