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Delhi Metro completes tunnelling on Phase 4’s deepest underground stretch on Golden Line
Delhi Metro's Golden Line will connect Aerocity near Indira Gandhi International Airport with Tughlakabad.
The Golden Line, part of Phase 4 of the Delhi Metro expansion, aims to improve connectivity in the city's southern parts. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Tuesday completed tunnelling on the deepest underground stretch of Phase 4 with a tunnel breakthrough at the IGNOU station on the Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor, known as the Golden Line.
The newly completed tunnel, stretching 1,460 metres from Chhattarpur Mandir to IGNOU, was constructed using a tunnel boring machine (TBM). The depth of the tunnel varies between 18 and 39 metres. Another parallel tunnel on the same route was completed on February 25. The DMRC has now achieved three tunnelling breakthroughs in the last four weeks as part of Phase 4 underground work.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa attended the event. Slamming the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, Gupta said, “The earlier government tried to stop the Metro project. The Delhi government’s share was not given. Even today, the Delhi government’s liability of Rs 10,000 crore towards Delhi Metro is pending.”
The Golden Line, part of Phase 4 of the Delhi Metro expansion, aims to improve connectivity in the city’s southern parts. The corridor will link Aerocity, a major transit hub near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, with Tughlakabad. Approximately 19.343 km of the approved 40.109 km corridor is underground.
Only two Delhi Metro tunnels are deeper than this: a tunnel on the Magenta Line in Phase 3 was built at a depth of about 30 metres, while another for the Airport Express Line passes below the Rajiv Chowk station at about 45 metres.
According to the DMRC, the tunnel was built using the earth pressure balancing method (EPBM), with a concrete lining made of precast tunnel rings cast at a facility in Mundka. The construction involved the installation of 1,048 rings with an inner diameter of 5.8 metres.
“This tunnelling project was challenging because of the high mica content,” said Amit Bagla, an engineer with construction firm Larsen and Toubro.
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