tunnelling-journal (1)
tunnelling-journal (1)
  • Home
  • Print
    • Subscribe
    • Tunnelling Journal
    • Breakthrough
    • ITA Activity Report
    • A&NZ Journal
    • WTC Preview
    • Media Kit
  • Digital
    • Newsletter
    • E-Shots
    • TJ Digital edition
    • Products Page
    • Media Kit
  • Conferences
    • BTS Conference and Exhibition
    • Cutting Edge 2022
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • Events Diary
  • Jobs
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Podcast

Home > Record-Setting Robbins TBM breaks through in Mumbai

Record-Setting Robbins TBM breaks through in Mumbai

Gary

Written by Gary on 22/02/2014 in News

Tagged:

A celebration ensued among crew and Robbins Field Service following the 6.25 m (20.5 ft) TBM’s breakthrough

On January 21, 2014, a Robbins Main Beam TBM completed one of the longest and deepest water supply tunnels in Asia, the Mumbai Water Tunnel. The 6.25 m (20.5 ft) diameter machine displayed excellent performance throughout the 8.3 km (5.2 mi) bore, and achieved impressive advance rates along the way.

Joint venture contractor Unity-IVRCL (UIJV) was pleased with the hard rock machine and the continuous support provided by Robbins during the project. Mr. Pravin Titare of Unity spoke to this, saying, “The Robbins TBM was good in hard rock, and we reached high rates of 870 m (2,855 ft) per month and 58 m (188 ft) per day, both records for TBM tunneling in India. We were able to achieve this due to the good performance of the machine and a conveyor system for muck haulage in place of conventional methods.”

Robbins provided both the TBM and conveyor system for the project, as well as Field Service personnel to monitor the equipment and assist with daily upkeep and inspection. “The Robbins crew helped us commission and start boring on schedule, and the Robbins TBM operators did a great and skillful job maintaining tunnel alignment. Because of this, UIJV received a good reputation towards our client Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM)”, said Titare.

Although the machine was ultimately a success, it did experience its fair share of challenges during the 21-month bore. Difficult ground, including basalt rock, fractured ground, and water inflows, was encountered throughout the tunnel. Mr. Bipin Arey of IVRCL spoke about overcoming such challenges, saying, “The geology was particularly bad at times. Our team took all precautionary measures and advanced slowly. We maintained good ventilation throughout execution and utilized a good dewatering system.”

Ground support also played a critical role, said Mr. Titare: “The TBM was very safe in the adverse geological conditions. The rock support system and ring beam erector were helpful to reduce downtime and allowed us more production time.” Challenging ground conditions, combined with the sheer depth of the 109 m (357 ft) tunnel, made the machine’s excellent advance rates especially notable.

Now completed, the water transfer tunnel will provide Mumbai’s approximately 20.5 million residents with a consistent flow of clean drinking water, even during the seasonal monsoons that formerly contaminated the city’s water resources.

Comments:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Digital Edition

More Like This

05/12/2022

LTA awards Punggol Interchange and CRL2 bored tunnel contracts

LTA awards Punggol Interchange and CRL2 bored tunnel contracts

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded two civil contracts; one for the design and construction of Punggol interchange station…

11/08/2022

Ministerial endorsement for Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East

Ministerial endorsement for Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East

The first stage of Victoria’s biggest ever infrastructure project – Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East – is a significant step…

31/01/2023

EPBM assembly for Chennai Metro Rail Phase-II

EPBM assembly for Chennai Metro Rail Phase-II

Contractor, Tata Projects Ltd has celebrated the assembly of the third of five ordered 6.61m diameter Terratec EPBMs for use…

  • Contact Us
  • Media Kit
  • Magazine Archive

Newsletter

The latest from the Tunneling Journal direct to your inbox.

Social



Enquiries

TGS Media Ltd
The Old Library
Webster House
Dudley Road
Tunbridge Wells
TN1 1LE
United Kingdom

© Tunnelling Journal. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy / Terms & Conditions. Admin

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more