Second TBM at Chennai’s Nehru Park begins tunnelling

The second TBM to be used for excavation at Nehru Park metro station, which is part of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) in southeast India, will begin operations by mid-October.

The first machine, which was launched in late July, has already covered about 84m. The two TBMs will cover a stretch of 939m from Nehru Park station to Egmore station. Both the tunnels are expected to reach Egmore by the end of January 2013.

CMRL awarded the design and construction of the twin tunnels to Larsen and Toubro, in a joint venture with Shanghai Urban Constuction Group for the design and construction of the 3.342km tunnels including three underground stations at Nehru Park, Kilpauk Medical College and Pachiappa’s College. Larsen and Toubro started the construction work on 7 February 2011.