The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has heralded a transformative milestone with the culmination of tunneling for the city’s most extensive subterranean Metro line. This ambitious undertaking, part of the Pink Line (Reach-6) in Phase-2, traverses a remarkable 13.76 kilometers from Kalena Agrahara in the south to Nagawara in the north.
With the Pink Line incorporating 12 subterranean stations, station construction has now reached an advanced stage, with nearly 90 percent of the work completed.
This 20.99-kilometer twin-tunnel, stretching along the North-South corridor, is poised to revolutionize Bengaluru’s fraught traffic landscape, promising a swift and streamlined commute option through the city’s core, as reported by The Hindu.
The final tunneling breakthrough was realized by “Bhadra,” the last of the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) deployed for this venture. Bhadra’s achievement—the completion of a 937-meter segment from K G Halli to Nagawara—marks the triumphant closure of tunneling work for Reach-6.
The tunneling journey spanned from the southern end near Tannery Road to the northern exit, incorporating the construction of four key underground Metro stations: Tannery Road, Venkateshpura, Arabic College, and Nagawara. This complex project has been meticulously overseen by M/s ITD Cementation India Limited, a distinguished engineering firm in the nation.
Since its commencement in August 2020, the project witnessed the deployment of a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Urja between Cantonment and Shivajinagar. In total, nine TBMs were employed, each fulfilling their unique segmental responsibilities.
Highlights of this intensive phase included a remarkable single-day feat by TBM Urja, achieving 27 meters on April 25, 2022, and TBM Tunga recording an impressive monthly progress of 308 meters between K G Halli and Nagawara in July 2024.
With the line’s operational launch slated for December 2025, this new route is expected to make a substantial impact on traffic flow along the North-South axis, offering an efficacious alternative to Bengaluru’s frequently gridlocked thoroughfares.