TERRATEC Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are proving their
worth in India with another contract secured for the underground works on Line
1 of the Pune Metro.
Having delivered 22 TBMs to India in the last six years
(more than all other manufacturer combined over the same period), TERRATEC is
pleased to announce yet another order in the country, this time for the Pune
Metro Rail Project, in Maharashtra. Gulermak-Tata Projects Limited has selected
TERRATEC to provide a number of 6.61m diameter Earth Pressure Balance TBMs
(EPBMs) for its two underground contracts on Line 1 of the new metro.
In February, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited’s
(MMRCL) Executive Director, Atul Gadgil, announced that the joint venture had
won both of the twin tube tunnel packages on the north-south corridor.
The 5km underground section of the 16.56kmlong Line 1
corridor – which runs from PCMC to Swargate – is the most challenging portion of the line, as it passes through the
densely populated areas of Kasba Peth, Budhwar Peth and Mandai market (pictured
above).
The versatile TERRATEC EPBMs that will be delivered to Pune
will have robust mixed-face dome-style cutterheads designed to work effectively
in the compact Basalt that is expected on these contracts at pressures of up to
4 bar. As the TBMs progress, they will install 1,400mm wide by 275mm thick
pre-cast concrete lining rings, which consist of five segments plus a key.
The order comes following the very strong performance of two
6.52m diameter TERRATEC EPB Machines that were used by Gulermak-Tata Projects
JV to complete the TBM-driven tunnels on Phase 1A of the Lucknow Metro two
months ahead of schedule. “With this TBM supply order, Gulermak-Tata JV has
once again reaffirmed its confidence in TERRATEC’s TBMs, having completed the
Lucknow Metro tunnels well ahead of schedule. It has become a trend for our
clients to repeatedly return to us, opting to select TERRATEC TBMs for their
new projects due to the excellent performance of these machines,” says Gulshan
Gill, Managing Director of Terratec India. “In recent years, TERRATEC has
emerged as the leading TBM supplier in the Indian market, having supplied 22
TBMs in the last five years alone. TERRATEC’s continuing success on projects such
as Phase III of the Delhi Metro Phase, Lucknow Metro, the Ahmadabad Metro and Mumbai
Metro is a result of excellent tailor-made robust TBM design, prompt onsite assistance,
a readily available stock of TBM spares, and highly-skilled specialised TBM support
throughout the tunnelling operation.”
Pune is an industrial city that has witnessed much growth in
the areas of corporate and industrial infrastructure over the last decade.
Existing roads in the city currently carry an average of 8,000 commuters an
hour in each direction. The city experiences high traffic during peak hours
that leads to long hours of traffic jams along with increased pollution. The
Pune Metro aims to provide a solution to the above issues by offering a safe
and eco-friendly journey with a 50% reduction in travel time. When complete, in
2022, Pune’s Metro network will comprise three rail corridors with a total
length of 54.5km. Construction of the first two phases is currently underway,
while the third phase was approved for construction by the government of
Maharashtra in October 2018.
For more information visit: www.terratec.co
and for media inquiries email info@terratec.co / pr@terratec.co
.18/19.
