Page 53 - Traffic infratech magazine

INFRASTRUCTURE

unnel development in the country of a total tunnel length of 161.55 km. In
is driven by investments in the the metro rail segment, Mumbai Metro Rail
railway, roads & highways, metro Corporation Limited awarded the construction
rail, hydropower and water & of the 33.5 km underground length running
Tsewerage sectors. The roads and along the Colaba-Bandra-Santacruz Electronic
highways sector have witnessed limited tunnel Export Processing Zone stretch. The tunnel
construction, though some has taken place in construction work is estimated to entail a total
hilly regions. Metro rail tunnelling is a recent investment of Rs 181 billion.
phenomenon and has been spurred by the Conventional methods of drill and blast,
decision of dense cities to develop efficient boring, cut and cover have been the preferred
public transport systems. techniques for development of tunnels across
India Infrastructure Research analysed over sectors, particularly hydropower, railways
1,628 tunnels spread across three stages of and roads. New and innovative materials and
development — completed, under construction ancilliary equipment such as geosynthetics,
and awarded. These tunnels span over geomembranes, steel anchors and self-drilling
3,418km. In terms of length, 61 per cent of rock bolts have been deployed to improve the
this tunnel length has been completed, 32 per durability and strength of tunnels.
cent is under construction and the remaining Further, there is a growing focus on smart/
7 per cent has been recently awarded. intelligent tunnels which feature integrated
For instance, Indian Railways is traffic control systems, video surveillance,
implementing its biggest project so far – wireless communication systems, entrance
the Katra-Qazigund railway line in Jammu & detection control systems, electrical fire
Kashmir – which involves the development signalling systems, SOS call boxes, etc.

Mumbai Metro Line 3

The 33.5-km long construction of Line 3 river. This will be the second under-river metro
of the Mumbai Metro or the Colaba–Bandra- rail tunnel in India after the tunnel underneath
SEEPZ line will be the first underground metro the Hooghly river on Kolkata Metro Line 2.
line in Mumbai. The metro line will connect
Cuffe Parade business district in the extreme
south of the city to SEEPZ in the north-central
with 26 underground and one at-grade station.
Line 3 is expected to reduce road congestion,
besides reducing the load on the Western
Line between Bandra and Churchgate. The
project is being implemented by the Mumbai
Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL). The
line starts at Cuffe Parade, will run through
Nariman Point, Churchgate, CSMT, Girgaon,
Worli, Dadar, Mahim, Bandra-Kurla Complex,
Santacruz (East) and past the domestic and
international terminals of Mumbai Airport,
through Andheri MIDC and terminates at
SEEPZ.
The section of the line between Bandra
Kurla Complex and Dharavi stations includes a
170-metre-long tunnel passing under the Mithi

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