Bengaluru metro’s 21.38-km Pink Line, which will have the city’s longest underground section at 13.9 km, achieved a milestone on Friday when Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Vindhya broke through the Shadi Mahal shaft on Tannery Road.
Vindhya is the fifth TBM to complete its designated length of tunnelling. Urja, Varada, Avni and Lavi have already finished their job, according to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
The BMRCL deployed a total of nine TBMs to tunnel 21.245 km on two sides of the 13.9-km section.
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Vindhya started digging at the Cantonment station and broke through the Shivajinagar station on October 13, 2021, boring a total of 859 metres. It resumed tunnelling at the Cantonment station and broke through at Pottery Town station on August 18, 2022. It was once again put to use from Pottery Town to Shadi Mahal, and completed the third drive of 680 metres on February 24.
According to BMRCL, tunnelling has been completed on both packages awarded to L&T. The packages are: Rashtriya Military School (Vellara Junction) to Shivajinagar and Shivajinagar to Shadi Mahal.
Tunnelling on the remaining sections of the Pink Line is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
The BMRCL aims to open the line to the public by March 2025.