How did Delhi Metro achieve tunnel breakthrough on Phase-4 Golden Line at Tughlakabad?
The milestone was achieved in the presence of Railway Board Member (Infrastructure) Naveen Gulati and senior DMRC officials. This is one of several tunnel segments under construction as part of Phase 4.
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To ensure structural stability and public safety during underground excavation in a built-up area, ground movement was constantly monitored using sensitive instruments fixed to nearby structures. Officials said there was no settlement reported during the operation.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has marked another major milestone on its Phase 4 Golden Line project. A tunnelling breakthrough was achieved on Tuesday, with a tunnel boring machine (TBM) surfacing at the Tughlakabad Railway Colony station site. The development marks the completion of a 792-metre underground stretch between Tughlakabad and Tughlakabad Railway Colony, helping boost connectivity on the upcoming Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor.
The milestone was achieved in the presence of Railway Board Member (Infrastructure) Naveen Gulati and senior DMRC officials. This is one of several tunnel segments under construction as part of Phase 4. Of the total 65.20 km approved so far, 40.1 km are underground, with the Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor accounting for 19.34 km of these.
According to officials, the tunnel was excavated at an average depth of 18 metres using a 91-metre-long TBM operated by civil contractor M/s Afcons Infrastructure Ltd. This is one of two parallel tunnels being built for up and down train movement on the corridor.
The construction was carried out using the Earth Pressure Balancing Method (EPBM), a tunnelling technique that allows for controlled excavation through varied soil and rock layers. The tunnel’s internal structure comprises precast concrete rings, 559 of which were installed to form the passage with an inner diameter of 5.8 metres. These rings were manufactured at a mechanised casting yard in Mundka, where a steam curing system was used to help the concrete segments achieve early strength.
To ensure structural stability and public safety during underground excavation in a built-up area, ground movement was constantly monitored using sensitive instruments fixed to nearby structures. Officials said there was no settlement reported during the operation.
Delhi Metro has relied on TBMs since Phase 1 and scaled up its usage in Phase 3, where 30 such machines were deployed to construct around 50 km of underground lines in Delhi.
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