Afcon completes Agra metro line-1 project 

With Notable Accomplishments, TBM S115 from Afcons Infrastructure completes a significant breakthrough that advances the building of Agra Metro Line-1.

For the 14.25 km Line-1 (Sikandra – Taj East Gate) of the Agra Metro Phase 1 project, Afcons Infrastructure – Sam India Consortium celebrates the tunnel boring machine (TBM) S115’s breakthrough at Raja Ki Mandi Station. This is the second breakthrough for S115 and the fourth for the remaining underground length of Agra Metro Line-1, between RBS Ramp and Mankameshwar Mandir Station, outside of the operating Priority Corridor. In total, this marks the 12th innovation for the 7.93 km Package AGCC-02 that links the Taj Mahal Ramp and RBS Ramp.

S115 is Afcons’ fourth TBM and a rebuilt Terratec Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) device. In order to construct a 2.2 km tunnel for the up-line from RBS College Ramp towards Agra College Interchange Station, it was put into service in December 2023. It completes its first drive in April, completing in 4 months the construction of a 720-meter tunnel for the up-line from RBS Ramp to RBS College Station. After that, it pulles through the station box of RBS College and launches again in May towards Raji Ki Mandi Station, travelling 684 meters in just 68 days.

Afcons – Sam India Consortium gives ₹ 1819.79 crore civil construction contract for underground Package AGCC-02 by Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) in March 2022, with a 48-month timeline.  Twin tunnels link the seven stations at Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Jama Masjid, SN Medical College, Agra College, Raja Ki Mandi, and RBS College in their stretch from chainage 3630.000 to 11564.485.

There is an intriguing past about TBM S115. It is one of the three Afcons machines (S88, S89, or S90) that utilises to construct six tunnels on Package 8 of the 82-kilometer Delhi-Meerut RRTS project inside the city of Meerut. The equipment, whose cutterhead diameter is originally 7.51 meters, shrunk and rearranges to fit the tunnel specifications of Agra Metro. There is a new cutterhead attached, and I think it has a diameter of around 6.52 meters.

For its final journey, which will travel about 535 meters, S115 will now be hauled past Raja Ki Mandi’s station box and recommissioned towards Agra College Station. Six more breakthroughs remain in the Phase 1 project after the completion of 12: two at Raja ki Mandi, two at Agra College, one at SN Medical College, and two at Mankameshwar (Jama Masjid).

Within the following month, TBM Shivaji (Herrenkhecht S-718C), who is digging a parallel tunnel from RBS College to Raja Ki Mandi, OR TBM Ganga (Robbins 324), who is digging a tunnel from Agra College to SN Medical College, will either make the next significant discovery.

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