09 April,2024 07:25 PM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
The work on the longest tunnel is just 200m away from completion
With one more breakthrough last week, two of three tunnels on the new local train line of suburban corridor of Panvel-Karjat are now nearing completion with work on the longest tunnel just 200m away from completion.
The game changer Panvel-Karjat railway project is taking shape under MRVC's Mumbai Urban Transport Project 3 (MUTP-3). A total of three tunnels (Total: 3,164m) i.e. Tunnel-1 (Nadhal Tunnel) of 219m, tunnel-2 (Wavrely tunnel) of 2,625m and Tunnel-3 (Kirawali Tunnel) of 320m are under construction as part of this project.
The existing old line caters to goods and a few long-distance passenger trains. The new double line corridor will enable local trains to run between Mumbai to Karjat via Panvel. It will also work as a catalyst of the fast-developing Panvel, Karjat and NAINA (Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area).
The breakthrough has already been achieved in Tunnel-1 (Nadhal Tunnel) on 10 May 2023 and work on laying down a ballastless track) are under progress. The excavation of tunnel-3, that is Kirawali tunnel, was started on 29th Sept. 2023 and breakthrough was achieved earlier last week 30th March 2024. Work of concrete lining and ballastless track is planned to be completed by year-end.
"There were many challenges while excavating this tunnel. The entire tunnel length was bored through the Class-3 rocks and the last 20m are supported on lattice girders. The work was challenging as it was carried out in the vicinity of homes and commercial establishments," a MRVC spokesperson said.
The work of the underground excavation on the longest among all (Wavrely Tunnel) of 2,625m has been completed for 2,425m as on April 2.
