Barasat metro to cross airport hurdle with tunnel-borer help
This will enable it to not only avoid use of tall cranes that the airport authorities had objected to citing flight safety, it will also help the line negotiate the tricky stretch between New Barrackpore and Barasat where encroachment is a major challenge. Earlier, the tunnel section between the airport and New Barrackpore was supposed to be constructed using the cut-and-cover method, while the rest was supposed to be elevated.
If the proposal gets the railways ministry's nod, the length of the Noapara-Basarat corridor will double from 18 km to 22 km and feature three additional stations beyond Barasat.
Metro Railway has engaged railway consultancy firm RITES for a feasibility study on the Airport-Barasat section's alignment revision so that the twin tunnels can be executed by deploying non-invasive TBMs.
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The development comes a week before PM Narendra Modi's likely inauguration of the first phase of the Yellow Line from Noapara to the airport.
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When that happens, the city will get its first airport metro connectivity. However, beyond the airport, the Yellow Line construction has been a major challenge as Metro Railway opted for the cut-and-cover technique to build the twin tunnels.
In the absence of TBMs, the construction would involve excavating a trench to build the tunnel structure and then filling it. "The technique is useful when the depth is relatively shallow and surface disruption is permissible," said a source.
"All the above issues plaguing the Yellow Line are ready to be resolved. RITES has started the feasibility study for a longer Yellow Line with eight more stations. Once the proposal gets the final approval from the ministry, the 18km Noapara-Barasat corridor will span 22 km, with nine stations in the 12km Michael Nagar-Barasat section alone," the source said.
Barasat Municipality chairman Ashani Mukherjee said: "Topographical survey and geo-technical investigations are ongoing in the Madhyamgram and Barasat municipal areas for further extension of the Yellow Line and revision of construction methodology in the Michael Nagar-Barasat section.
At the behest of CM Mamata Banerjee, Barasat MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar broached the issue in Lok Sabha. Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
"
According to the new alignment, the 11.9km Michael Nagar-Barasat underground route will run parallel to Jessore Road below some low-rise buildings, Vidyasagar Stadium, Kachhari Maidan, Barasat DM's office, and the Barasat EMU car shed-cum-maintenance depot at Jaypur. The stations will include Michael Nagar, Bidhanpally, Madhyamgram, Hridaypur, Vidyasagar Stadium, Barasat, Uttar Seethi, Jaypur, and Suripukur.
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