DMRC achieves major tunnel breakthrough on Golden Line

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Saturday achieved a key milestone in its Phase IV expansion, with a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) successfully completing a 792-metre underground stretch between Maa Anandmayee Marg and Tughlakabad Railway Colony station on the upcoming Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor, also known as the Golden Line.

The breakthrough was witnessed at the Tughlakabad Railway Colony site in the presence of Delhi’s Health, Transport and IT Minister Dr Pankaj Kumar Singh, DMRC Managing Director Dr Vikas Kumar and other senior officials.

Calling it both a “supervision and an inauguration,” Singh said: “Since the BJP government came to power in Delhi and placed its trust in the people, Metro projects that were earlier delayed are now progressing at full speed. This breakthrough marks a renewed momentum, and we will ensure that Delhiites get all facilities they deserve.”

The tunnel, excavated using a 96-metre-long TBM, has been constructed at an average depth of 18 metres. It features 566 reinforced concrete rings, each with an inner diameter of 5.8 metres. A second parallel tunnel for the opposite direction is expected to be completed by July 2025.

The structure was built using Earth Pressure Balancing Method (EPBM) with concrete lining from precast segments manufactured at the DMRC’s fully mechanised Mundka casting yard. The tunnel passes under existing built-up areas, with the DMRC deploying sensitive instruments to monitor ground movement, ensuring no surface-level disturbance.

The Aerocity–Tughlakabad corridor, part of Delhi Metro’s Phase IV, will include 19.343 kms of underground track out of a total of 40.109 kms.

The DMRC has been using TBMs since Phase I and deployed nearly 30 machines during Phase III, which saw the completion of around 50 km of underground tunnels.