Underground Tunnels
By May 2008 the 9.15 km underground tunnel, which forms the crucial part of Metro alighment on the North-South and East-West corridors will be commissioned. BMRCL will float the global tenders for design and construction by Jan 2008. The tunnel will be completed in 33 months (approximately by September 2011). Phase I is expected to go live by December 2011.
There will be twin tunnels that will allow trains to ply in opposite directions. Big players in the rail industry wil form consortia and participate in the tenders. The tunnel will cost the BMRCL Rs 1,250 crore (as of December 2007) which will have seven stops on both North-South and East-West corridors.
On North-South route the stops would be,
- Majestic Interchange Stations
- Chikpet
- City Market
On East-West route the stops would be,
- Majestic Interchange Stations
- Central College opposite Court complex
- Vidhana Soudha near MS Building
- Minst Square
At Majestic Interchange, the trains will criscross each other, with East-West corridor trains running above North-South corridor trains, which will be 20 metres below earth surface. There will be a concourse to allow passenger movement - exit and entry, change of trains assisted by elevators and escalators.
On the North-South corridor, the 4.5 km underground tunnel will start at Swastic Theatre near Seshadripuram and emerge out at Victoria Hospital near City Market. The East-West underground corridor will run up to 4.65 km that will begin at the KSCA Cricket Statium near MG Road and end at the Leprosy Hospital behind City Railway Station.
The cost of North-South Coriddor is expected to be Rs 707 crore, East-West corridor (from Byappanahalli to Mysore Road) about Rs 996.6 crore.
BMRCL has assured the public that the work will not hit ground water. Global consultants and IISc are conducting studies to track the water table, utility lines and other geophysical features like soft earth and rock. The Metro tunnels will be fully secured from leakage of ground water into the tunnel area because of a special lining that will be constructed inside.
