Bengaluru: Hurdles for the BMRCL along the North-South corridor just don’t seem to end. Now, the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), Godavari, hit a hard rock near Chickpet recently and has been severely damaged, delaying the project.
Godavari was damaged after it hit a boulder in the tunnel just before KIMS Hospital, nearly 50 metres from the Chickpet Metro station. The TBM has been lying idle for the last few weeks now, said sources in the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.
“It is difficult to repair the TBM in the ground as it cannot move in any direction. We are planning to dig another tunnel and get the damaged TBM out. We assume that it cannot be repaired and used again. We have to replace the machine with another one,” the official said.
Two TBMs, ‘Krishna’ and ‘Godavari’, were working on the North-South line. While ‘Krishna’ has completed 361 metres of tunneling worm from the City Market to the Chickpet Metro station in North-bound tunnel and 270 metres of tunneling on the South-bound line, ‘Godavari’ has completed 352 metres in the north-bound tunnel from North Ramp towards the Majestic Metro station.
The BMRCL is now looking at various options to contain the damage and ensure that there are no further delays. The underground line of North-South corridor, between Sampige Road and National College, goes towards the KR Market station, cutting through the Majestic Metro station.
Despite problems, the BMRCL maintained that it will meet the deadline on the North-South line and will make it operational by September 2015.
- Tunnel Boring Machine Godavari was damaged after it hit a boulder in the tunnel just before KIMS Hospital, nearly 50 metres from the Chickpet Metro station. The TBM has been lying idle for the last few weeks. The BMRCL is now looking at various options to contain the damage and ensure no further delays
