CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): Tunnel boring machine manufacturer Terratec in Pune passed the factory acceptance tests (FAT) for S81B for Package TU01 of the 118.9 km Chennai Metro Phase 2 project.
For the 16.589 km Purple Line of the Pune Metro Phase 1 project, a 2144 m tunnel was constructed between the stations of Swargate and Budhwar Peth using this 6.61 m earth pressure balance (EPB) machine known as TBM S81 “Pavana” back in 2021–2022.
It was disassembled and sent back to Gulermak – Tata Projects JV’s casting yard in Yerawada for refurbishing after its first and only breakthrough in January 2022.
The device will now be used by Tata Projects to build roughly 9 km long twin tunnels (a total of 18 km) on the brand-new 45.813 km Line-3’s Venugopal Nagar-Kellys section.
The scope of the project includes the Construction of approximately 9 km of twin bored tunnels (total = 18 km) from the TBM Retrieval Shaft near Venugopal Nagar (of Line-5) to Kellys Station, and the construction of diaphragm walls, entry/exit structures of Madhavaram Milk Colony Station, Murari Hospital Station, Ayanavaram Station and Purasaiwakkam High Road Station, including launching and retrieval shafts at the above stations.
Tata Projects will use 7 TBMs: 2 Herrenknecht machines (S-1330A, S-1331A), 1 refurbished Terratec machine (S81B), and four new Terratec machines (S96, S97, S98, and S99).
In October, the S96, the first machine, was put into service in Madhavaram, north of Chennai.
