The ongoing work on the Mumbai Metro line III gathered momentum on Friday, as the authorities began excavation work using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) at Nayanagar in Mahim in south-central Mumbai. The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) will in all be using 17 TBMs to construct 33.5 km-long twin tunnels.
Of the 17 TBMs being imported by the state-run Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), three have arrived, while 13 more TBMs are expected to arrive in the city by February 2018. “Of the four TBMs currently in use, three have been lowered. One of the TBMs began excavation work on Friday,” a MMRC spokesperson said.
Senior MMRC officials, including its Managing Director Ashwini Bhide, were present when the TBM began excavation work at the tunnel at Nayanagar. To be built entirely underground, the Mumbai Metro line III will connect downtown Cuffe Parade in south Mumbai with Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) and Aarey locality at Goregaon in north Mumbai. It will also pass through the Domestic and International airports of Mumbai. There will in all be 27 railway stations.
The MMRDA, which is co-ordinating with the MMRC in the construction of Mumbai Metro line III, will launch 17 TBMs through seven shafts and start boring the metro tunnels from various points like Cuffe Parade, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai Central, Worli, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai Airport and Marol Naka.