The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) managing director Mangu Singh on Wednesday unveiled a book on the various engineering hurdles faced by the DMRC during the construction of Phase III corridor.
From boring machines getting stuck during tunnelling work to using “out of the box” techniques to negotiate land acquisition issues, the book, compiled by Anuj Dayal, Executive Director Corporate Communications of the DMRC, spells out the challenges faced by the DMRC in its bid to connect the various areas in the national Capital.
“During tunnelling work between the Delhi Gate and Jama Masjid stations, the tunnel boring machines [TBM] got stuck due to various constraints. We had to use innovative techniques and had to make a separate shaft to extract the machine and put a new one. Even at Ashram, we had a land acquisition problem. So we had to change plans and an extra level had to be made to place the tunnel ventilation system” said Mr. Singh.
“With the Heritage Line and two of the recent corridors being opened, about 62 km of the Phase III network has been covered. With the completion of this phase, the operational span of the Delhi Metro will increase over 360 km, and the Delhi Metro will then become the fifth largest network globally” added Mr. Singh.
Granite rock
Speaking about the change in alignment that had to be made at Daryaganj due to the ruins of the Akbarabadi Mosque, Mr. Dayal said, “We encountered granite rock underneath during the construction of the entire Heritage Line, but we overcame the odds and New Delhi was connected to the heart of Old Delhi and on the metro network.”
While the Kalkaji Mandir-Botanical Garden stretch of the Magenta Line was made operational in December last year, the Durgabai-Deshmukh South Campus-Majlis Park stretch of the Pink Line was inaugurated last month.
When asked about construction of the Phase-IV, the DMRC chief said, “We are at the starting line. The moment we are given the green signal we will be ready to go.”
