Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) S120 has been commissioned at Kolathur Ramp for package CP06/UG06/RT01 under the Chennai metro rail project phase II. It would travel 246 metres till Kolathur station and is likely to complete work by June 2025.
Also known as TBM Kurinji, it is a Ø6.61 metres Terratec Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) machine and also the first of four machines to get deployed for constructing underground twin tunnels for connecting Kolathur – Nathamuni.
Package CP06/UG06/RT01 involves construction of underground stations at Kolathur Junction, Srinivasa Nagar, Villivakkam Sub-urban Station (Villivakkam), Villivakkam Bus Terminus and Nathamuni (Villivakkam MTH Road) with entry / exit, ventilation shafts, plumbing, earthmat, architectural finishes and signages etc. including twin bored tunnels from Kolathur Junction retrieval shaft to Nathamuni (Villivakkam MTH Road) launching shaft and ramps with U – section in corridor-V. Package was awarded to Tata Projects Limited in September 2023.
The project involves development of 118.9 km three metro corridors (corridor III, IV and V) in Chennai city of Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of Rs 632.46 billion. It is mostly underground with an elevated section confined to a few short stretches and consists of 128 stations in total.