Karnataka: Tunnel machine Krishna makes Majestic' entry

Bengaluru: After a long wait, Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Krishna made a landmark breakthrough at Kempegowda station in Majestic on Friday. With the TBM’s appearance in Majestic, the city prepares for a major change in the way it commutes. With the connecting of the Nagasandra station in the North to Yelachenahalli station in the South, the tunneling works of Phase 1 of Namma Metro now comes to an end.

Addressing reporters, BMRCL MD Pradeep Singh Kharola, said, “Krishna’s entry in Majestic marks the end of Phase 1 works. The tunneling works in North-South line started in December 2012 and although this was a delayed breakthrough, it was the most important one. With this landmark development, all the works on Phase 1 will be completed by January 2017. However, we need CRS permission to run the trains commercially and that may take two more months.”

While BMRCL will begin track laying works after removing the TBM from the tunnel and cleaning it, which is expected to take another 60 days, works at the Majestic station will be completed by December.

Mr Kharola added that the TBM hit a lot of hurdles, especially in dense areas like Chickpet and City Market, and damaged a lot of buildings, but there was no loss of life or any major mishap. Meanwhile, Mr Kharola stressed that works between Sampige station and Majestic station too would be completed by December.  

Trial run in South line
Hinting that Phase 1 of Namma Metro could be completed much earlier than the deadline given by CM Siddaramaiah, Mr Kharola maintained that in the next four months all the remaining works in this phase would be complete. Further, he added that the trial run on National College and other stations in the South line would begin on November 10. “There were delays in meeting the deadline as we had uncertainty over the tunneling works. However, with the completion of the tunneling, we are confident that Phase 1 will be thrown open to public much before the April deadline,” he said.

Long applause for Krishna
As the TBM roared its way into Majestic station, an electrifying environment set the mood to welcome Krishna. The BMRCL staff paid a floral welcome to the TBM with party poppers filling the air. Loud cheers chorused the breakdown of rocks and stones. While the TBM promptly finished its ‘duty’ between 2 and 2.20 pm, the underground workers did not stop applauding even after 40 minutes. Over 2,000 workers toiled for 3.9 years underground to complete the tunneling works of Phase 1.

Krishna’s burrowing journey on Southern Ramp
(North-South Line)
Dec 2012- Works begin from National College Makes slow progress towards City Market
Sep 2015- TBM enters Chickpet
Dec 2015 - TBM begins its slow journey from Chickpet to Majestic, hitting several rocks and hurdles  
Sep 2016- Krishna completes 1.8 km tunneling works, marking the end of all Phase 1 tunneling works
Hurdles for Krishna Borewells, Wells, Sinkhole, Rocks

Rocky road for Krishna
1,800 meters of tunneling completed in 3.9 years
747 meters, the crucial final phase, completed in 9 years
Although the tunneling was expected to be completed by August after several repairs and delays, the final breakthrough took place only on Friday
20 breakthroughs Completed
747 meters, the crucial final phase, completed in 9 months
20th breakthrough on Friday was the last and most important breakthrough