Date:20/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/20/stories/2008032053960400.htm

New Delhi

Foreign experts to join Metro tunnel work

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

File Photo: V. V. Krishnan

The giant mover: A Tunnel Boring Machine used by the Delhi Metro on display in New Delhi.

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of men from across the world are going to descend into the dark and dank interiors of earth to create an extraordinary underground rail network for Delhi. These men from the United States, Britain, Thailand, Singapore, Japan and Germany will join hands with their Indian counterparts to tunnel through the “Delhi silt” and help in extending the metro rail network in the city.

Faced with a shortage of trained hands to work on the huge tunnel boring machines that are being used for the underground sections of the metro, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is relying on “foreign expertise” to carry out the cumbersome work. “There were logistical problems. Getting enough people to man the machines was difficult. So we will have people from Thailand and Singapore among other places now to work on the tunnel boring machines,” said a DMRC official.

First time in use

The DMRC will use 14 “Earth Pressure Balance TBMs” for the second phase of constructions as the ground conditions are soft and often wet. “It is for the first time in any Asian city that 14 TBMs are being used simultaneously. The second phase, which has about 30 km underground, will have TBMs working on 16 km, two TBMs are already operational in Malviya Nagar while two others have been lowered at INA. By the end of the year, the rest will also be lowered at different locations including two that will be on the airport line,” said DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal.

While Delhi’s silt has made the task of tunnelling less onerous, for the men who man the machines the ambience underground is far from congenial. “Working shifts extend up to 12 hours and the tunnel is hot,” explained the official.

Health hazards and threat of accidents being high, the teams have to take a slew of precautions. Apart from safety gear that the gang-men have to wear, there are provisions to address exigencies like gas leak, fire and bursting of water and sewer pipes. There are provisions for emergency lights and modes of communication to help workers in case of accident.

It takes about 30 people to work on a single TBM.