CHENNAI: Metro rail is expected to start tunnelling near Light House Marina Beach sometime in September. Flamingo, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) that will be assembled in a shaft under construction at the Light House metro station in August, underwent an acceptance test on Thursday at the factory of Herrenknecht, the German manufacturer, in Alinjivakkam.
The Light House station is part of the 26.1-km-long corridor-4 that stretches from Light House to Poonamallee Bypass which is part of the 118.1km phase-2 that is scheduled to be ready by 2026. Some of the stretches, however, may be completed only by 2028.
"Construction of the TBM launching shaft is under progress at Light House station. It is expected to be ready for lowering and assembling of the TBM in August," said a press release from CMRL spokesman L Girirajan.
Officials said Flamingo will be launched in the downline of corridor-4 where it will mine at a depth of 29m starting from Light House, Kutchery Road, Thirumayilai, Alwarpet and Bharathidasan Road. It is expected to reach Boat Club in November 2025.
Flamingo, which has a 6.67m diameter and is 110m long, is an earth pressure balance machine that weighs around 700 tonnes. After the factory acceptance test on Thursday, it was dismantled and packed to be transported to the Light House station.
At the Marina, to facilitate construction of the Light House metro station, the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, a landmark in the city, was relocated a few metres behind its original location. Officials said the statue will be barricaded and protected before it is brought back to its original location after the metro rail construction is completed.
Corridor-4 has an 8 km underground stretch (16km upline and downline tunnels) from Light House to Kodambakkam Flyover. The underground section was split into two 4km sections for faster construction. Flamingo will be one of the four TBMs that are set to be deployed in corridor-4.
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