Big news for Bangalore Metro commuters! Soon, travelling across the city on Namma Metro’s rail network to get convenient and better. The tunneling works for Bengaluru’s longest underground corridor finally started. Today, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), after the Chief Minister of Karnataka, B. S. Yediyurappa set a tunnel boring machine, announced the commencement of tunneling work for the city’s longest underground metro corridor between Cantonment station and Shivajinagar station. According to an IE report, today, the Chief Minister has set in motion the work by one Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). Between Cantonment metro station and Shivajinagar metro station, the TBM, which has been named Urja will now be tunneling (north-bound tunnel).
According to the report, the expected geology in this tunnel section is about 250 metres in hard rock, 350 metres in mixed ground conditions, and nearly 255 metres in soil. According to BMRCL officials, the second TBM (which has been named Vindhya) is likely to be commissioned soon after the required advancement is completed by the first TBM completes. The longest underground metro corridor in the state capital, Bengaluru is planned between Diary Circle and Nagawara metro stations, spanning across a distance of 14 kms in total.
Earlier, it was also reported that BMRCL is planning to extend the city’s metro line network from KR Puram to Kempegowda International Airport via Hebbal and Nagawara. For this metro line extension, BMRCL has acquired properties on various stretches of the alignment.
According to the official website of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, the Phase 1 Bangalore Metro network consists of two corridors that include the East – west corridor and the North – South corridor. The East – West corridor named Purple Line, covers a distance of 18.10 km, while the North – South corridor named Green Line, covers a distance of 24.20 km