The work on the Patna metro rail project is in full swing, with 30 per cent civil work completed on the elevated stretch and 11 per cent work completed on the underground portion of the Corridor-2 (Patna station-Patliputra bus terminal).
Civil work on the elevated part is progressing at a fast pace, after the required land has been handed over, and involves laying of U-girders. Work on the five elevated metro stations is also going on simultaneously.
A total of 308 such U-girders are planned to be erected in the elevated section, of which, 44 U-girders have been placed so far near Zero Mile. The first U-Girder span was placed between two piers near Bhoothnath station on 27 January 2023.
U-girders are precast pre-tensioned structures on which track laying can be done immediately. After casting, these girders are brought to the site and launched with the help of high-capacity cranes or launchers. Each such structure being used in the project weighs around 160 tonnes.
The officials of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC), the nodal agency for the project, said civil work on priority corridor is to get ready by last quarter of 2024, after which electrical and rolling stock work will start.
Tunneling Work
The tunneling work of the underground section of the Corridor-2 started on 21 March after the first of the four Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) was lowered.
The first TBM of the Patna Metro Project named “Mahavir” was lowered 16 metres below the surface, into the location of the Moin-Ul-Haq metro station. The TBM will bore a 1,494-m-long tunnel towards the Patna University station.
After the first phase of the corridor is completed, the boring machines will then be lowered at Gandhi Maidan, tunnelling 1,400 metres towards Patna Junction.
The tunneling work of Corridor-2 is expected to be completed over the next 30 months, during which four TBMs will be used in two phases. It will connect the seven underground stations of Corridor-2.
Two Corridors
The Patna Metro project which has two corridors — Corridor-1 from Danapur to Khemnichak and Corridor-2 from Patna station to Patliputra ISBT.
The 14.5-km-long Corridor-2 includes a 6.6-km long elevated priority corridor and a 7.9-km underground stretch.
The elevated priority corridor will have five metro stations, namely, Malahi Pakri, Khemnichak, Bhoothnath, Zero Mile and Patliputra Bus Terminal.
The 7.9-km-long underground section will run between Frazer Road to Rajendra Nagar, consisting of seven underground stations — Patna Junction, Akashvani, Gandhi Maidan, PMCH, Patna University, Moin-ul-Haq Stadium and Rajendra Nagar.
While the priority corridor will be ready by 2025, the underground section of Corridor-2 will be completed by 2026.