History of Tunnels in India

8/10/2019 History of Tunnels in India

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HISTORY OF TUNNELS IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION TO UNDERGROUND WORKS

India is a land of lofty mountains and mighty rivers. A vast land with such varied relief isinhabited by more than one billion people. The country consists of three main physicaldivisions. They are the great mountains of the north and north- east, the great plains ofnorthern India and the great southern plateau of Peninsular India. The southern plateauis flanked by the narrow coastal strips which are a part and parcel of the peninsular landmass. India has diverse geology too.

Ancient Caves

India has a very old history. Indus civilization is well known.

Tunnels had their own roles to play in every civilization and Indian civilization is noeception. Tunneling dates back to prehistoric times. Primitive people dug cavities orwidened the natural caves for shelter against weather, enemies and wild life.

Archaeological research establishes that men even in the stone age ecavated cavities.Pre historic tunnels built a few thousand years ago have been discovered in India.Tunnel construction in India dates back to !ahabharat period when Pandavasecavated escape tunnel . "istory also reveals that many kings got constructed escapetunnels from their forts to safer places to be used during emergencies. In India, numberof ancient caves are preserved even now and are well known through out the world. Thepaintings found in these caves and the architecture of these caves while reflecting thehistory of that period also indicates their epertise in ecavating these caves. #hile thecaves of A$anta, %llora, %lephanta are the tourist attraction, there are other caves whichare e&ually fascinating and details of such '( caves are given in this book.

Tunnels are important components of transportation networks, water conveyancenetworks and communication networks. They could be in rocky environment or in softermedia and could be in various geometrical shapes depending on the functional utility.%arlier tunnels were constructed manually. !an)s insatiable passion to achieve more andmore progress and production to meet the ever increasing re&uirement of mankind hasdriven him to design and improve upon the production of basic tunneling tools into moreefficient and productive ones.

Hydro Tnne!s

*onstruction of tunnels received a big boost after independence in '+ when largeprogrammes for eploitation of water resources were taken up which involvedconstruction of tunnels for water conveyance and other underground works. In the lastsi decades large number of tunnels have been constructed in connection withmultipurpose and hydroelectric pro$ects in the "imalayan region. Amongst the importantpro$ects, where tunnels have been built include *hamera, aira-suil, and /athpa 0hakripro$ects in "imachal Pradesh, 1ri 2tage-I, 3ulhasti and, 2alal pro$ects in 0ammu and4ashmir, 3hauliganga pro$ect in 1ttaranchal. In the /orth-%ast, important tunnel $obshave been eecuted at 5oktak and Teesta stage- 6 Pro$ects. In the Peninsular India too,there was spurt in tunneling activity connected with the eecution of 4oyna,/agar$unasagar, and 2risailam pro$ects. Tunnels with bore diameter of as much as + m


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and length up to over 78 km at eas - 2utle$ 5ink have been built in this period.

About 9 hydro-tunnels, small and big, totaling a length of about :8+ km. have alreadybeen completed while '7: tunnels having a length of about 77; km. are underconstruction. About 8: tunnels having a total length of about '7;; km are planned to beeecuted in recent future. 3etails of these pro$ects are indicated in the chapter on "ydro

Tunnels Total lengths of tunnels in some pro$ects are indicated in the table below.

/ame of "% Pro$ect 5ength of tunnels including adits


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0ammu-1dhampur-2rinagar aramulla railway line connecting 0ammu, the summercapital of the 04 2tate with 1dhampur the district head&uarter. Track traverses thedomain of 2hiwalik ranges of young "imalayas which is highly undulating and difficulthilly terrain. *onstruction of railway line involved (8.77 lac cum of earthwork and rockcuttingB 7' tunnels with total length of ';.:(; kms, longest tunnel being 7.8 km and'8( bridges with spans up to ';7 m < in prestressed concrete= and '8 m ailways, with a rich history in tunneling since'((+ when first tunnel commenced at hor ?hat, have con&uered the mighty andunpredictable "imalayas on 01>5 ail 5ink= with road ?auge line.1pon completion of the entire pro$ect, it will be an engineering marvel and willsupplement the transportation needs and shall also encourage tourism, and providethrust to industrial development. Inade&uate knowledge of strata in "imalayas makestunneling an etremely comple, arduous, and hazardous and painfully slow work.*ertain problems were also faced while implementing this pro$ect. esides the details ofthese two hilly rail links details of 4angra 6alley >ailway, /ilgiri !ountain >ailway and/eral- !atheran Toy train are given in the chapter on C>ailway Tunnels in "illy TerrainC.

Another important railway tunnels belong to 4onkan railway. 4onkan is a thin strip of

land, about 8; to';; km. at its widest 7; km long between the Arabian 2ea and the#estern ?hats or the 2ahyadri mountain ranges. Its proimity to the Arabian 2ea,especially the fact that several ma$or and minor sea ports in peninsular India fall in thisregion, has endowed 4onkan with a rich history and cultural heritage.

4onkan was also the area where 6asco 3e ?ama from Portugal landed in '+(, leadinga %uropean onslaught that eventually led to the colonisation of India.

The history of the 4onkan >ailway goes back more than '8; years. %ver since '(89,when the railways began in the sub-continent, the people of Cthe region were keen tohave a railway line for efficient and dependable transportation of goods and passengers.Dor decades, the only means of transport here was the sea, and this route was severely

limited by the fact that it could not be used during the monsoon. The roads connectingcoastal towns came up only recently. The area, therefore, remained largelyundeveloped, though it was rich in natural resources.

@nly after the 4onkan >ailway *orporation 5imited *5= came into eistence as apublic limited company in 0uly '++; the work started on this pro$ect and finallycommissioned on 7:-;'-'++(.

In the :; km. long stretch of railway line, there are +7 tunnels aggregating to a totallength of (9.: km. and nine tunnels out of these were longer than two km. It was for thevery first time that such massive tunneling work was attempted for vehicular tunnels inIndia. @ut of these, km was through hard rock, (. km. through soft soil, and the

balances '.7 km through cut and cover construction.

In the field of development of metros, though a beginning was made long back in theyear '+ when the work on 4olkata metros started and subse&uently completed in theyear '++8, the work on 3elhi metro started only in the year '++8.

!etro >ailway construction in 4olkata is first attempt of underground railwayconstruction in India and also in one of the busiest cities, having poor soil conditions. Dorthis pro$ect, a uni&ue )cut and cover) method of construction was used even through the


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very busy roads of 4olkata, ecept in small stretches, where shield tunneling wasadopted. *ut *over method of construction was primarily adopted due to economicalconsideration.

4olkata !etro >ailway is successfully running between Tollygunge 3um3um. 2uccesshas further encouraged for further spread of a stretch of '(.:8 km. between /ew 3as

/agar- 2alt 5ake *ity 2ec- 6 , which is being planned and detailed pro$ect report hasbeen prepared.

Another hall mark is the )3elhi !etro). The city of 3elhi with a population of around ':.;million should have had an !ass >apid Transit 2ystem T2= network long back,whereas actually it is still :8.'; kms at the take-off stage.

3elhi has eperienced phenomenal growth in population in the last few decades. Itspopulation has increased from 8 lakhs in '+(' to ':7 lakhs in 7;;: and is poised toreach '+; lakhs by the year 7;''. Dor want of an efficient mass transport system, thenumber of motor vehicles has increased from 8. lakhs in '+(' to 8' lakhs in 7;; andis increasing at the rate of :.7' lakhs per annum. The result is etreme congestion on

3elhi roads, ever slowing speeds, increase in road accidents, fuel wastage andenvironmental pollution with motorized vehicles alone contributing to about two thirds ofthe atmospheric pollution.

?overnment of India


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and poor anticipation of the nature and the magnitude of problems catch the tunnelingengineers unawares, resulting in delays and higher cost of construction. Inade&uateinvestigations could be attributed to financial, technical and site constraints etc .

The nature of ma$or construction problems which have been eperienced in the past dueto inade&uate investigations areE


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been emphasized. It is proposed to add about ':;;; !# hydropower by end of ''thplan ending 7;'7 and 9;;;; !# by end of '7th plan ending 7;' and suchdevelopment have opened avenues for construction of tunnels, underground cavernsetc. and other connected infra structure on a much larger scale.

*onsiderable activities in the field of tunneling are therefore envisaged for the eecution

of water resources pro$ects for irrigation, hydropower generation, building of roads inmountainous area, subsurface ecavation for underground railway and for miningpurposes. #ith the growing need to accelerate the tempo of water resources andhydropower development, new pro$ects are being taken up, which involve construction ofabout '7;; km length of tunnels, practically in every type of strata and sizes varyingfrom 7.8 m dia to ' m dia besides underground ecavation of caverns for the powerhouses. These pro$ects are planned to be taken-up on priority for completion of some byend of 7;'7 and others by end of 7;'. It is also planned to develop 9';;; !# in the'9th planning ending 7;77 and remaining about 9:8;; !# by end of ',h plan ending7;7. These developments would provide ample scope for tunnel and undergroundconstruction in a big way in times to come.

*onstruction of !etro is another field where lot of B ictivity in tunnel construction andunderground works are onvisaged in times to come. After completion of ongoingtunneling works of about 7+ km in phase- II, 3elhi !etro >ail *orporation is planning totake up phase-Ill and phase-l 6 involving etension of metro track by about ''9 km. and';+ km. respectively thereby etending the track to a length of about ' km. Thesedevelopments would i ilso involve construction of tunnels and also underground /ationsin a big way.

The success of the 3elhi !etro has encouraged other Indian cities to seriously attemptto introduce !etro systems. 3!>* has already been appointed the Prime *onsultant for"yderabad and 4ochi !etro and is the in-house consultant for !umbai !etro. 3!>*has also submitted 3etailed Pro$ect >eports s= for !etro systems in angalore,

4olkata s are being preparedfor Pune and 5udhiana. In fact, work has already begun on the angalore and"yderabad !etros.

!etros which has wide scope for the construction of tunnels and underground workshave an ecellent future in India In view of the large scale aforementioned works whichare planned.

In addition road tunnels also are to be eecuted in future. The work of >s ' billion>ohtang Tunnel pro$ect, aimed to provide an all-weather alternative route to 5eh-5adakhregion, besides "imachal)s snow-bound tribal district of 5ahaul and 2piti, will commencethis year-end. ecause of heavy snow at higher reaches of >ohtang pass during winter,

the road connectivity for 5ahaul and 2piti and 5eh from "imachal Pradesh remainsdisrupted for almost four to five months. The snowfall is heaviest at the 9+(; m-high>ohtang Pass. This tunnel will be built below the pass so that it avoids the heavy snowand provides all weather road, besides reducing the distance by kilometre. order>oad @rganisation has geared upto take up this work. The tunnel is likely to becompleted by 7;'. There are other road tunnels, the eecution of which are underactive consideration.

An important rail tunnel work is going on 0ammu-1dhampur- 2rinagar- aramulla sector


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in the state of 0ammu and 4ashmir. The 0ammu- 1dhampur sector having 7' tunnelshas already been completed while the work in the remaining sector having 7 tunnelswith total length of ';( km. is in progress. In other sectors also there is a good futurerole for underground works.

Tunnels are generally located in difficult environments- in various types of softer media-

and the alignment may traverse zones of various compleities. It is important that suchengineering pro$ects are properly conceptualized and planned systematically to ensuresmooth implementation. 2ince one of the fundamental measures to ensure fast trackconstruction is the choice of a safe alignment, careful consideration is re&uired to begiven to avoid all types of hazards as far as possible and these include treacherous soilconditions, subterranean water streams, strata bearing hazardous gases such asmethane, etc. In addition, it is also to be ensured that ade&uate investigations have beendone, proper selection of tunneling e&uipment has been made, appropriate contractingpractices are available, environment and forest clearances have been taken, competentconstruction agencies are available, social issues have been taken care of and similarother issues are duly considered. If these are not properly accounted, theimplementation will not be smooth and many problems are likely to arise from various

affected agencies during the construction leaving to delay and cost over-runs.

FUTURE TUNNELING AND UNDERGROUND WORKS

1nderground works in Infrastructural development - Power, roads and railway are veryvital for prosperity growth of a /ation. 1nderground works are key corridors forconnectivity, transportation, #ater *onveyance and communication.

Indeed in the Asian region, construction of underground works for hydro powerdevelopment, road and rail links have been taken up on a large scale. In India alone, inthe net two decades, about 8;;;; !# of hydro power is planned to be developed

involving over '7;; km of tunneling for conveying water and number of large size*avern to accommodate desilting chambers, generating units transformers. ThemountainousF"illy regions are adopting Tunnels for connectivity, where as mega citiesand ma$or towns are adopting underground routes to over come congestions andimprove transportation. It is a sector which is epected to attract considerably largeinvestment in the coming two decades. #ith the comparatively easier sites alreadyeploited, the future development involves pro$ects located in comple geotechnical andtopographical conditions posing challenges for investigation, design, planning andconstruction. An even greater challenge is to accelerate this construction with improvingsustainability and maintaining &uality and safety.

T%e Ftre Scenario

Hydro )o"er )ro+ects

#ith the growing need to accelerate the tempo of water resources and hydropowerdevelopment, new pro$ects are being taken up. These pro$ects are planned to be taken-up on priority for completion within net ten to fifteen years. /ame of the Pro$ects alongwith length of tunnels which are proposed to be taken up for construction are indicated inTable belowE


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Na(e o* )ro+ect Len$t% in ,(

Pare "% Pro$ect


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/alu


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Tidong -'


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?undia "%P


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Teesta-I6 angyong ongini *hu


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3elhi !etro rail *orporation 5td. has already commissioned a :8.'; km route in phase Iand is proceeding ahead with another '78 km in phase II.

)%ase5I!!

After the completion of Phase II of 3elhi !otm Pro$ect by 7;';, work on Phase IIIcovering ''7.'kmE. is likely to be taken up. 2ome of the corridors that art likely to beincluded in Phase III are !ukundpur- 2nrnl 4alenkhan I2T, *2-?okulpuri border-/awada, >ithala arwala, Airport 5ink 2ushanlok-T $unction 2octor (, ahadurgarh%tn. and ?haziabad %tn. to us depot. These corridors are tentative and sub$ect tochange.

)%ase5I6

This would be the final phase of 3elhi !etro. y adding another ';(.8; kms, it wouldcompletely link 3elhi the /ational *apital >egion = with a total network of around' kms. oth these phases would also involve construction of tunnels and undergroundstations. After completion 3elhi !etro >ail work shall be amongst one of the longest!etro network in the world.

S&read O* 4etro C!tre To Ot%er Indian Cities

The success of the 3elhi !etro has encouraged other Indian cities to seriously attemptto introduce !etro systems. 3elhi !etro >ail *orporation *= has already beenappointed the Prime *onsultant for "yderabad and 4ochi !etro and is the in-houseconsultant for !umbai !etro. 3!>* has also submitted 3etailed Pro$ect >eportss= for !etro systems in angalore, 4olkata s are being prepared for Pune and 5udhiana. In fact, work hasalready begun on the angalore and "yderabad !etros.

3etails of the other !etros being planned in India are as followsE

Rai! Net"or,

Dor 0ammu-1dhampur- 2rinagar aramulla >ail 5ink, between 4atra-uazigund section


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5ine- II Heshwantpur - 0aya /agar '.+ 4ms

Airport 5ink

*ity Airport Terminal at Police ?round

s. ' billion >ohtang Tunnel pro$ect, aimed to provide an all-weatheralternative route to 5eh-5adakh region, besides "imachal)s snow-bound tribal district of5ahaul and 2piti, will commence this year-end. The (.( km-long tunnel located through

the Pir Pan$al mountain range in the higher "imalayas is likely to be completed in 7;'.

T%ree Tnne!s to ease Ai7"a! Tra**ic

!izoram will build three tunnels in Aizwal net year to ease traffic congestions in themountainous capital city. The work on the three tunnels is likely to begin shortly and tobe completed in 9; months.


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2ome Aspects ?overning Duture Implementation

6arious aspects which would influence future of underground engineering from planningto construction are indicated below to ensure smooth implementations.

'. *onceptual planning pro$ect preparation- A proper conceptual decision during theplanning stage of a tunnel construction is a condition for successful implementationand subse&uent functioning of construction.

7. %ngineering 3esignE Proper engineering is re&uired for systematic implementationand to ensure re&uired utility for the tunnels.

9. Technology and !echanized Tunneling -To further accelerate the progress of works,latest technology to be introduced for eecution of the works. The tunneling ratesachieved in India using the conventional method of ecavation are no where near thehigh advance rates achieved using machine tunneling in the developed countries,the key, therefore, lies in careful adoption of machine tunneling, wherever possible.

/ow-a -days high efficiency high tech e&uipments are available in the market. Inrespect to drilling economy, computer guided hydraulic drill rigs would be used to theetent possible. In ecavations, tyre mounted diesel e&uipment can beaccommodated provided their width and height is planned in advance. The lowprofile dumpers need to be planned instead of du dumpers high profile dumpers.Dor drilling, drill $umbos with two or three booms plus basket can be used for greaterdepth and parallel activities. olte type of machines and arms robots machines forrock bolting and shotcreting are also to be considered. Advantages of T! arealways to be kept in mind. #orks can be epedited in small dia. tunnels by using"ogg loader and conveyer mounted trolleys. 1se of modern methods and e&uipmentwith &uick decision is ultimate key to achieve fast rate of progress.

. *onstruction !ethodologyE it is essential to choose the correct methodology forvarious parameters involved in the tunneling.

8. !odes of implementation and *onstruction Agencies E Tunneling work is mostly doneby contractors. 3uring ecavation, if circumstances change and conditions met withare not favorable, then the perspective of both owner *ontractor should be takencare of in interest of work. !ere, provision for e&uitable fair conditions in contractdocument do not automatically set everything in track. It has been eperienced that itis pro$ect management during eecution, close monitoring and control of work bothby owners and contractors which yield satisfactory results.

S$$ested )o!icy

The following two-fold policy is of relevance for improving the tunnelling rates.

Lon$5ter( )o!icy

'. Identify ma$or tunnelling pro$ects to be taken up on priority basis in the net decade.

7. Identify the tunnels where adoption of machine tunnelling is likely to be viable.


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9. 2tandardise the size of tunnels for optimizing the use of tunnelling machines. Anumber of smaller tunnels can be preferred over a large tunnel.

. Identify the level of machine ecavation techni&ues and the machine types suitablefor working conditions of the country.

8. Import tunnelling machines from the developed countries with a package includingspares, training and transfer of technology for indigenous production.

:. *reate a production base for tunnelling machines in the country.

. 1se controlled blasting techni&ue instead of conventional blasting method wheremachine ecavation is not possible.

(. 1se shotcrete and rock bolt support instead of the steel-rib support system, whereverpossible.

+. Adopt purposeful tunnel instrumentation programmes.

';. Adopt air-borne surveys and geophysical techni&ues for faster, &uicker and reliablegeological investigation.

''. Incorporate modern management systems to enforce time and cost schedule.

'7. provide ade&uate ventilation system wherevor re&uired.

S&eci*ic )ro+ect 8ased )o!icy

The pro$ect-based remedial measures am necessary to plan tunnelling operations in

case of a specific tunnel for timely eecution of a pro$ect. Dollowing i could beconsidered.

'. *ollect reasonably reliable geological information with increased use of air-bornesurveys and geophysical techni&ues.

7. Prepare an assessment of the epected ground behavior with the help of ageotechnical epert. This should includeE


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8. 1ndertake detailed geological investigations along selected tunnel alignment.

:. Perform necessary laboratory and field tests.

. Prepare a detailed assessment of epected ground behaviour with the help of a

geotechnical epert


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ensure safety and stability of the structures. At last, in future no user industry can flourishwithout having an easy apd &uick access to cost effective and good &uality e&uipments,therefore, there is a need for creating an e&uipments manufacturing base in the country.

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History of Tunnels in India