INDIA: Tunnelling has started on Line 1 of the Pune metro, with the flagging off of a tunnel boring machine from Agriculture College.
The 85 m long Terratec TBM is to bore a tunnel 20 to 30 m below ground on the 8·2 km Shivajinagar – Swargate section of Line 1.
Terratec is supplying three 6·61 m diameter earth pressure balance TBMs from its Chinese factory; the first two were delivered last month. A joint venture of Gülermak and Tata Projects was awarded both contracts covering the underground section of Line 1 earlier this year.
The 16·6 km north-south Line 1 will connect PCMC and Swargate, serving nine elevated and five underground stations. The first two lines of the Pune metro are due to be completed in 2022.
