New Delhi: The tunnelling process at the Begumpul station on the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) came to an end on Saturday, according to an official statement.
The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) is implementing India's first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) between Delhi and Meerut via Ghaziabad.
The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor of India's first RRTS witnessed the first tunnel breakthrough in Meerut on October 22. Sudarshan 8.3 (tunnel boring machine) made a breakthrough from the tunnel at the Begumpul RRTS station.
Officials said that now the tunnelling process for further course of the corridor beyond Begumpul station will begin.
"Managing Director, NCRTC, Vinay Kumar Singh initiated the breakthrough by pressing a remote button in presence of the directors and other senior officials of NCRTC. This feat has been achieved within 4 months after completing the boring and formation of a 750-metre-long tunnel, the NCRTC statement said.
Meanwhile, two other TBMs — Sudarshan 8.1 and 8.2 — are boring 1.8-km-long parallel tunnels from Bhaisali to Football Chowk in Meerut.
The statement said that the Begumpul RRTS station is being constructed through a top-down technique, in which the station is built from top to bottom along with deep excavations.
This station has three levels: mezzanine, concourse, and platform level. The mezzanine and concourse levels of this station have been completed and the construction of the platform level is being carried out at present, the statement said.
To construct this 750-metre-long tunnel, over 3500 pre-casted segments have been used, it said.
The statement added that due to the bigger rolling stock and a high design speed of 180 kmph, the diameter of the
RRTS tunnels being constructed is 6.5 metres.