Uneven twists and turns in a 25-km-long elevated corridor in East Delhi will see the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation construct a record number of sharp curves in Phase-III of constructions. On its standard gauge Hazrat Nizamuddin–Shiv Vihar corridor, the DMRC is forced to construct as many as 14 curves on this stretch since the corridor passes through very congested areas such as Trilokpuri, Seelampur and Maujpur.
“Curves less than 300 metres in radius are considered ‘sharp curves’ in Urban Rail constriction,” said a DMRC spokesperson, adding: “The work of building sharp curves requires a great deal of engineering skills and several factors have to be kept in mind while designing special segments and spans at the turn or juncture concerned.”
Among the 14 places that have sharp curves only two – Anand Vihar Railway Track Crossing and near Karkarduma metro station – have a radius of curvature a little over 300 metres. Other places such as Maharaja Surajmal Marg (near MTNL office) and Swami Dayanand Marg have a turning radius of only 200 metres.
The DMRC, thus, has to form specially-dedicated beds in its casting yard for casting of special segments. The segments are then constructed according to the already defined ‘radius of curvature’ and then put on the viaduct. Further, cantilever piers and portals (supports) have to be constructed at appropriate places to provide smooth transition for the curves, wherever required, to take care of the shifted alignment due to curvature.
The Hazrat Nizamuddin – Shiv Vihar corridor is a part of the 59-km-long Mukundpur – Shiv Vihar corridor of Phase III covering 40 metro stations.
The Delhi Metro had previously constructed a sharpest broad gauge curve on its elevated section in Gurgaon near IFFCO Chowk with a radius of 282.05 metres between pier no. 125 and 137 in Phase-II.
