Patna Metro Rail Project: Tunnelling Work To Begin On Corridor II In November

Tunnelling for the underground portion of Corridor II of Patna Metro rail project is expected to begin in November this year.

Larsen & Toubro will deploy a total of four tunnel boring machines: two new machines from China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Company Limited (CRCHI) and two refurbished machines (S71 and S72) from Hubei Tiandi Heavy Industries (THI)/Terratec that were previously used for Ahmedabad Metro Phase-I.

Two machines are already on the way. Patna should receive the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) before the end of next month.

“It is expected that the machines will reach Patna by the end of October. The tunnelling work on the underground section of Corridor II is likely to be completed in 24 to 30 months,” a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official said, reports The Times of India. 

From Rajendra Nagar to Patna Junction, twin tunnels will be built using this equipment. The machine will drill tunnels all the way up to Patna University, from which it will be extracted. From Gandhi Maidan to Patna University, the second machine will begin digging.

About 7.2 km of the Patna Metro Phase-1 project's underground section connecting Rajendra Nagar and Patna Junction Railway Station was inaugurated by Bihar's Chief Minister in August 2022.

The second phase will see excavation work between Gandhi Maidan and Patna Junction, as well as between Moin-Ul-Haq Stadium and Rajendra Nagar. 

The tunnel will be constructed utilising the earth pressure balancing (EPB) method and its concrete lining will be formed of precast tunnel rings, said the DMRC official. 

Patna Metro

Patna Metro plans to have 24 stops on two lines. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the project's foundation stone on 17 February 2019, after the central government gave its clearance on 6 February 2019.

NCC Limited began the groundwork for Patna Metro's Phase 1 in November 2020 and piling for construction in December 2020.

Patna Metro Phase 1 Route

Corridor-1 (East–West Line): Danapur Cantonment–Khemni Chak

Length: 16.86 km

Elevated: 9.36 km with eight stations

Underground: 7.5 km with six stations

Number of stations: 14

Station names: Danapur Cantonment, Saguna More, RPS More, Patliputra (formerly IAS Colony), Rukanpura, Raja Bazar, Patna Zoo (formerly JD Women’s College), Vikas Bhawan (formerly Raj Bhavan), Vidyut Bhawan, Patna Junction (interchange), Mithapur, Ramkrishna Nagar and Jaganpur and Khemni Chak (interchange)

Length: 14.05 km

Elevated: six km with five stations

Underground: eight km with seven stations

Number of Stations: 12

Station Names: Patna Junction (interchange), Akashvani (formerly Dak Bungalow), Gandhi Maidan, PMCH, Patna University, Moin-Ul-Haq Stadium, Rajendra Nagar, Malahi Pakri, Khemni Chak (interchange), Bhoothnath, Zero Mile and New ISBT

All proposed metro rail stations along Corridor I (Danapur to Khemni Chak) and Corridor II (Patna Junction to Patliputra Bus Terminal) will be green buildings with provisions for energy and rainwater conservation and a sustainable environment.

The DMRC, the nodal agency for the Patna metro rail project, is taking steps to reduce air pollution during construction across the city and design stations as eco-friendly structures by adhering to green standards in order to more effectively utilise natural resources and local products.