Highlighting the hardships faced by the Delhi Metro in executing the Phase III Project, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Wednesday launched a book, “Delhi Metro Phase 3 challenges”. Written by Executive Director of the DMRC Anuj Dayal, the book divided in 12 chapters on the various challenges faced by the agency in expanding the network.
From boring machines getting stuck during tunnelling work, stalling project timelines to evacuation of people from some of the most densely-populated areas, the road to the Walled City was not easy for the Delhi Metro, which surmounted these daunting challenges with innovation.
“The Heritage line (Central Secretariat-Kashmiri Gate corridor of the Violet line) was one of the shortest corridors (9.37 km) of the Phase-III network, but it turned out to be the “biggest challenge” in the phase”, said Dr Mangu Singh, DMRCs Managing Director said.
“During tunnelling work between Delhi Gate and Jama Masjid stations, and at Azadpur station (of Pink line), tunnel boring machines (TBMs) got stuck due to various constraints. We had to use innovative techniques to overcome them, so as to avoid the delay in the project,” said Singh.
Sharing the challenges faced in constructing the Heritage line that passes through the historic Shahjehanabad area, dotted with numerous historic buildings, the Delhi Metro chief said, in a tunnelling stretch near the congested Golcha Cinema area, multiple TBMs had to be deployed to complete the job, after one TBM got stuck. Besides, at Golcha shaft, TBM3 and TBM5 of 5.7 m diameter each were from a Chinese company, while TBM4 was of Herrenknecht with a diameter of 5.8 m. So, to counter the issue of different diameters of TBMs, a 90 mm plate was welded inside TBM 3 and TBM5 to retain the uniformity of the tunnel, according to the publication. Also, in the Old Daryaganj area, with a number of houses in dilapidated condition, local residents were evacuated twice during tunnelling on the Heritage line.
He said this while interacting with reporters at the launch of ‘Delhi Metro: Phase-III Challenges’, a compilation of the engineering feats achieved and the challenges encountered during the construction of the Heritage line and two other major corridors —Janakapuri West-Botanical Garden (Magenta line) and Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar (Pink line).
Anuj Dayal said, “The Phase-III project was initially supposed to only span 103 km, but with network expanding in Ghaziabad, Noida, Ballabgarh and other parts of the NCR, the length got extended to about 160 km. With Heritage line and two of the recent corridors being opened, about 62 km of the Phase-III network has been covered. With completion of this phase, the operational span of the Delhi Metro will increase to over 360 km, and the Delhi Metro would rank five among the global rapid transit networks,”.
“A total of 2,000 people were evacuated with around 650 people evacuated in a single go. They were put up in various guest houses in nearby areas, and the DMRC also repaired and restored their houses before shifting them back. Vertical support were given to all structures in the area during the tunneling process,” the publication said. On ruins of the Akbarabadi Mosque being found under the Subhas Park in Daryaganj during the work”, Dayal said.
The book also encapsulates the major civil engineering challenges that were encountered during the construction of the three main corridors under the third phase of expansion — the Majlis Park - Shiv Vihar Pink line, the Janakpuri West — Botanical Garden Magenta line and the Central Secretariat — Kashmiri Gate Violet line.