Metro of Bangalore

Efficient transportation solutions are top priority in Asia’s megacities, where traffic and pollution may undermine quality of life if left unchecked. Bangalore, a metropolitan area of 8 million people in the south-west of India, has taken on collective transportation as the solution. Two new metro lines now run through the commercial and residential center of the city, for a total of about 42 kilometers. The contract concerns a 3.6 km section of the Bangalore Metro’s north-south corridor. The tunnels, each 2’515 m long, have a double-drilling configuration for a single track with an internal diameter of 5.6 meters and were excavated using three EPB-TBMs. Conversely, the two tunnels on the north and south sides were bored using the cut-and-cover technique for a total length of 600 m. The project also includes two underground stations, City Market and Chickpete, each 225 m long and constructed in cut-and-cover with bottom-up structures, excavated below the water table. Two TBM shafts, a bypass near the Majestic station, and three safety cross passages complete the job. The tunnel travels under densely urbanized areas and passes through soft, water-saturated soils, including silty sand and clay silt, beneath granite rock.