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The first of four Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) set to be deployed for the construction of the 11.84-kilometre Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project has passed Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) at German firm Herrenknecht’s manufacturing facility in Alinjivakkam, Tamil Nadu, according to Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), which is executing the project.
In an official release, MEIL said, “The machine will arrive in April and work shall begin before the monsoon. Second TBM will undergo factory test later this month. Plan is to have both TBMs begin tunneling by the onset of monsoon. Two more TBMs will follow later.”
Designated TBM S-1400A, it is the first of four single-shield hard-rock TBMs to be used by MEIL for executing the project under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
These TBMs will drive the excavation of twin tunnels beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), connecting Ekta Nagar in Borivali with Tikuji-Ni-Wadi at Manpada in Thane. The tunnels will feature three lanes each, with a maximum depth of 23 metres below the surface, the release said.
Each of the four TBMs, including S-1400A, is equipped with a 13.2-metre diameter cutterhead, making them the largest deployed in Mumbai so far. This surpasses the 12.19-metre diameter cutterhead used in the Mumbai Coastal Road Project’s TBM Mavala (DZ636), which successfully built twin tunnels between 2021 and 2023, it added.
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