Context
Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor: Tunnel Construction From Anand Vihar To Sahibabad Commences
RRTS Tunnel (Photo: NCRTC)
The third Sudarshan Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) starts tunneling work on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor in the direction of Sahibabad from Anand Vihar station.
The RRTS corridor: The total length of this corridor is 82 km — 14 km is in Delhi and 68 km in UP.
The 17 km priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai will be commissioned by March 2023.
The corridor has four stations in Delhi — Jangpura, Sarai Kale Khan, New Ashok Nagar, and Anand Vihar — of which only Anand Vihar station is underground.
From this station, New Ashok Nagar towards Delhi and Sahibabad towards Ghaziabad are being built as elevated RRTS stations.
Underground construction: Two machines were already working on tunnel construction from Anand Vihar RRTS station towards New Ashok Nagar RRTS station.
They were deployed to construct two parallel tunnels of 3 km length.
The third TBM will be working on a 2 km-long tunnel, which will end in front of Vaishali metro station. This part will also have two parallel tunnels for arrival and departure of trains.
The launching shaft for the third TBM has been made at the north of Anand Vihar RRTS station, from where tunnel construction has commenced.
At the same time, at the end of the tunnel, a retrieving shaft is being built in front of Vaishali metro station, from where the Sudarshan (TBM) will be retrieved.
The tunnels: Tunnel rings are made underground by TBM with the help of tunnel segments. Seven tunnel segments are generally used to form a tunnel ring.
The tunnel segments are being manufactured at the NCRTC's Casting Yard with assured quality control.
Compared to the metro systems, this is for the first time that a tunnel of such a large size is being built in the country.
TBM: The 90 metre-long Sudarshan (TBM) is being used. This TBM consists of a cutter head, front shield, middle shield, tail shield, erector, screw conveyor, and many other important parts.
Safety provisions: Various security measures have been made to ensure passenger safety.
Emergency exits will be made in the underground sections for the safety of passengers in case of an emergency.
A cross-passage will be provided roughly every 250 metres.
The RRTS tunnel will also have ventilation ducts to ensure air movement.
A 60-90 cm-wide side walkway will assist in maintenance activities and also act as an additional emergency exit.
Fast-paced construction: The NCRTC is using state-of-the-art technologies to ensure safe and timely completion of works while minimising inconvenience to commuters, business owners, and residents of the entire segment.
One of the techniques being widely used for the project is pre-casting of various civil structures and minimising construction work on site.
The civil construction work of the priority section has reached the final stage and the trial run is expected to commence this year.
Why RRTS: The corridor will decongest the national capital, reduce vehicular traffic and air pollution, and ensure balanced regional development.
