During the past decade, tunneling construction has gained a swift momentum in India. The metro railway projects throughout the country showcase varied technological requirements as far as tunneling in concerned. In the case of tunneling construction methodologies, DMRC has always been a forerunner in the adaption of advanced methodologies, based on the requirements of the project.

Commonly adopted methods in India for tunneling:

  • Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM)
  • New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM)
  • Belgian methods
  • Drilling and blasting
  • Cut and cover method
  • Fore poling
  • Linear plate method
  • Shield tunneling

As we can see there are a lot of tunneling construction methodologies adopted in India. The selection of methods depends upon various factors and in the process of selecting the right method, a lot of significant yardsticks are also considered.

The selection of methods depends upon:

  • costs and project completion schedule 
  • population and vehicular concentration
  • the size of the bore
  • the conditions of the ground
  • the extent to which timbering is required
  • the equipment available


In case of the 5 km underground route of Pune Metro, the Maharashtra metro is seeking the latest tunnel-boring technology, in order to drill through the hard ground under the river bed. 

The Rs 11,420-crore project of Pune Metro is expected to be completed by 2021, and it is using the latest technologies in the construction process. The tunnel for the underground route will be drilled 28m under the Mula Mutha riverbed and some other designated areas. 

One of the stretches in the 5-km underground metro will be tunneling through the Deccan plateau basalt strata, which is considered good for drilling tunnels.

Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)

Tunnel boring machines, also known as TBM, are used as an alternative to drilling and blasting (D&B) methods in rock and conventional “hand mining” in soil. Tunnel boring machines have the advantages of limiting the disturbance to the surrounding ground and therefore they are able to produce a smooth tunnel wall. This also helps in reducing the cost of lining the tunnel, and therefore this method of tunneling is suitable to use in heavily urbanized areas. Tunneling with tunnel boring machines is much more efficient in comparison with drilling and blasting and results in shortened completion times when they operate successfully. On the other hand, drilling and blasting method remains the preferred method when the civil engineers have to work through heavily fractured and sheared rock layers.

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