As Delhi Metro Rail Corp Ltd (DMRC) has completed its 22nd year with twelve metro lines spanning 392 kilometers and 288 stations in operation, and is now moving ahead with three of the six Phase IV projects covering 65 km and 45 stations in three priority corridors in India. More than half of this construction is now complete, with a deadline of March 2026.
In early December, the federal government approved the construction of a 26.46 km extension of the 21-station Red Line, which will bring the total length of Phase IV to more than 112 km. Two additional 20.76 km corridors have also been approved.
The $3 billion Phase IV priority corridors Mukundpur-Maujpur, Janakpuri-RK Ashram and Aerocity-Tughlakabad are being funded by the State Government of Delhi, the Government of India and a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
In December 2023, DMRC awarded Hill International a contract to provide project management services for priority corridors of Phase IV of the Delhi Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). The field of action includes civil engineering in both elevated and underground sections. Hill also provides project management services for the installation of signaling systems, telecommunications, traction power supply, rolling stock depots and an operations control center, according to a news release.
This month, Mumbai-based Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, a Shapoorji Pallonji Group company, completed the longest tunnel drive in Phase IV, a 2.65 km stretch between Tughlakabad Air Force Station and the Maa Anandmayee Marg on the Tughlakabad-Aerocity corridor using a 105 m. long tunnel boring machine (TBM) at a depth of 16 m. Frequent replacements of cutters were required to drill the hard rock. “The alignment of the tunnel unit was planned to avoid passing under heritage structures,” S Paramasivan, MD, Afcons Infrastructure, told local media.
The tunnel posed significant challenges, including the relocation of a sewer line. The tunnel has been constructed using EPBM (Earth Pressure Balancing Method) with a concrete lining consisting of approximately 1,894 precast tunnel rings with an inner diameter of 5.8 m cast in a mechanized casting yard. The concrete segments were cured with a steam curing system to achieve early strength. Work on the parallel tunnel is expected to begin in January.
“TBMs are particularly useful for underground tunneling work in congested urban areas… In Phase 3, for example, 50 km of underground sections were constructed with 30 TBMs,” says Anuj Dayal, chief executive officer, DMRC.
Phase V, in the planning stage, aims to connect the entire Delhi region with cities in neighboring states. Collectively known as the National Capital Region is a rural-urban region with a population of 50 million including Noida in the state of Uttar Pradesh where the new airport is being built. A proposal to build a 5-km corridor between Noida International Airport and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport is under consideration, an official told ENR.
