Bengaluru Metro: TBM Urja to start tunnelling stretch between Cantonment and Pottery Town

Urja achieved a breakthrough after tunnelling between Cantonment and Shivajinagar in September this year. “It was transported and reassembled for its next journey,” officials added.

Urja, which has drilled a distance of 855 metre for over a year, is the first TBM to achieve a breakthrough on Namma Metro’s Pink Line from Kalenga Agrahara to Nagawara (21 km).

#Bengaluru Metro’s tunnel boring machine Urja will start tunnelling from Cantonment to Pottery town station (907m) from Wednesday said BMRCL officials. (1/2) @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/seAdx4x6we

— Darshan Devaiah B P (@DarshanDevaiahB) December 21, 2021

Urja is around 102-metre-long and costs Rs 70 crore. Deployed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Urja was the first TBM to commence drilling works in August 2020.

“Urja started laying the first tunnel ring on August 20, 2020 from Cantonment station and has successfully tunnelled up to Shivajinagar station under the most difficult geological conditions and below the oldest settlements of Bengaluru. Tunnelling using TBM is the most advanced PLC-based technology but the operation of such machines with high precision needs highly-skilled manpower and experts on the field,” officials had explained earlier.