DMRC achieves tunnel breakthrough at Vasant Kunj stn on Phase 4’s Golden Line

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on Wednesday achieved a key milestone in its Phase 4 expansion with the successful tunnelling of a 1.5-kilometre stretch between Kishangarh and Vasant Kunj stations on the upcoming Golden Line. A Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), measuring 91 metres in length, made a breakthrough at the under-construction Vasant Kunj Metro Station, the DMRC said in a statement.

The completed tunnel is part of the Tughlakabad-“Aerocity corridor, which includes twin underground tunnels for up and down train movement, it stated.

The parallel tunnel on the same stretch had already been completed in March this year, it said. According to DMRC, the newly constructed tunnel lies at an average depth of nearly 23 metres, with the deepest point reaching

about 30 metres.

A total of 1,105 concrete rings, each with an inner diameter of 5.8 metres, have been installed using the Earth Pressure Balancing Method, a widely used tunnelling technique in urban areas, it said.

The precast tunnel segments were manufactured at a dedicated casting yard in Mundka, where they were steam-cured to enhance durability and speed up construction, the statement said.

It mentioned that sensitive monitoring equipment was used to track ground movement throughout the tunnelling process, ensuring that existing buildings and structures remained unaffected.

The Tughlakabad-Aerocity corridor features approximately 19.3 km of underground sections and forms a major part of the 40-km underground network being built under Phase

4, it added.