Latest news with #Kalvarayan
New Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Tunnel work beneath busy railway zone complete in Chennai
CHENNAI: CMRL achieved a milestone in Phase II expansion on Tuesday, with a tunnel boring machine (TBM) completing a challenging underground drive beneath one of the busiest railway zones. The TBM, named Kalvarayan, completed its 867-metre journey between Ayanavaram and Perambur stations, surfacing at the Perambur south shaft. This marks the seventh breakthrough under contract by Tata Projects Limited, and the 11th overall in the Phase II project, which aims to deliver over 118km of new metro rail lines. The initial 9km underground stretch of Corridor 3, running from Madhavaram Milk Colony to Kellys, is being constructed by Tata Projects Limited, which has deployed seven TBMs. The Kalvarayan breakthrough forms a critical link within this section, which includes some of the most technically demanding alignments in the network. Engineers had to navigate beneath heavily trafficked railway platforms at Perambur station and through densely populated urban neighbourhoods, while mitigating risks from more than 30 borewells along the route. Despite these complexities, the TBM drive was completed without any incident, with ground settlement levels kept within permissible limits. Extensive instrumentation and continuous monitoring ensured safety throughout the operation.
The Hindu
14-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Chennai Metro Rail finally completes tunnel between Ayanavaram and Perambur
Chennai Metro Rail has finally constructed a tunnel between Ayanavaram and Perambur for the ₹63,246-crore phase II project, more than one-and-a-half years after the work began. The tunnel boring machine (TBM) 'Kalvarayan' bored a tunnel running to a length of 867 metres and made a breakthrough at Perambur on Tuesday. With this, Chennai Metro Rail has finished 11 tunnels so far for the phase II project. In the 118.9 km phase II project which will have three corridors (Madhavaram-SIPCOT, Light House-Poonamallee, and Madhavaram-Sholinganallur), 42.6 km has been planned underground, and there will be 48 stations. Ayanavaram-Perambur underground stretch is one of the sections in the Madhavaram-SIPCOT corridor of the phase II project. According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), it was a complex tunnel and they faced a lot of difficulties in completing it. The machine drilled under densely populated areas, railway tracks and platforms of Perambur Railway Station during the course of tunnelling. 'The entire tunnelling drive was well managed within the allowable minimum settlements and extensive instrumentation and monitoring was ensured throughout the drive,' a release said. Besides this, one of the major challenges the CMRL faced was to complete the station's diaphragm wall (which is crucial for the TBM to make a breakthrough) at Perambur. Though the machine finished boring more than 95 percent of the distance, it was kept waiting outside the Perambur station and was unable to make a breakthrough. The construction of the Perambur station, similar to many stations in the Madhavaram-SIPCOT corridor, faced a setback as the tender floated for this work was cancelled a few years ago. This delayed the construction process substantially.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
CMRL phase 2: 11th tunnel breakthrough after delays, tough terrain at Perambur
1 2 Chennai: The metro rail phase 2 project on Tuesday achieved its 11th tunnel breakthrough as tunnel boring machine Kalvarayan (S 1331) emerged at Perambur south shaft after completing an 867m up-line drive from Ayanavaram. While the event marked technical progress, it also drew attention to the challenges and delays affecting the 9km underground stretch between Madhavaram and to Tata Projects Limited, this stretch involves building twin tunnels using seven tunnel boring machines (TBMs). Kalvarayan's drive was delayed for months due to pending construction at the Perambur underground metro station. Both Kalvarayan and another TBM had to remain idle during this station construction encountered issues after initial tenders were scrapped when contractors quoted excessively high rates. The retendering process pushed the project deadline from Dec 2027 to July after work resumed, engineers faced a major obstacle water seepage from below the existing diaphragm wall at the station. To tackle the leakage, Tata Projects had to construct two to three additional diaphragm Ayanavaram-Perambur tunnel then presented other technical difficulties. Kalvarayan had to tunnel under active railway tracks and platforms at Perambur railway station and pass through densely populated residential zones. Along the way, engineers had to protect more than 32 borewells. CMRL ( Chennai Metro Rail Limited) arranged alternate water sources in advance to avoid public the tunnel drive, advanced instrumentation was used to monitor ground settlement, ensuring safety and structural stability. All operations were carried out within prescribed limits, avoiding disruption to surface infrastructure and rail operations, said an official these setbacks, CMRL maintains that overall progress remains on track. Officials said that non-civil components such as utility relocation and interior work can be completed quickly, and they aim to meet the final operational target of July 2028.
