Heritage Infraspace Pvt Limited (HIPL), as a top metro rail construction company in India, has worked on many metro rail projects all over the country. In addition to being a part of Delhi Metro construction, one of our most prestigious projects has been the Kanpur Metro project. HIPL has had the opportunity to provide its services in the construction of the crucial metro stations of Bada Chauraha, Chunniganj, Jhakarkati and Transport Nagar for the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC).
Here’s a look into the observations made, challenges faced, and solutions provided for this project, a part of the work we have done in the field of metro construction in India.
Working with Gülermak and AFCON, two prominent metro rail construction companies In India for the UPMRC Project
Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation is a joint venture company that operates the Lucknow Metro and Kanpur Metro. The other metro projects in the state are also under its ambit now such as Agra Metro, Meerut Metro, Varanasi Metro, Allahabad Metro, Gorakhpur Metro and Jhansi Metro.
Heritage Infraspace has worked on the UPMRC projects with two different metro rail construction companies in India. First with Gülermak, a Turkish construction company, known for rail transport, underground tunnels and metro stations.
The second time HIPL worked with Afcons Infrastructure Limited, a construction and engineering company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India that provides infrastructure services and is involved in the construction of infrastructure projects such as viaducts, flyovers, metros, bridges, etc.
The first metro rail construction project for UPMRC’s Kanpur Metro Project was awarded to HIPL in late 2021 along with Gülermak. And in early 2022, a second project was awarded to HIPL, to work with AFCON on metro rail construction.
Projects awarded to HIPL for the UP’s underground construction services in india
HIPL was contracted to work on Bada Chauraha & Chunniganj along with Gülermak in 2021. In 2022, HIPL was contracted a second time, to work on Jhakarkati & Transport Nagar stations. Work on these two projects are expected to get over by the end of August 2022.
HIPL provided their services in Diaphragm Wall Construction, a segment we have pioneered in India. No anchoring was required for these.
HIPL worked in tandem with other prominent contractors and the state and central governments, who were leading and monitoring the projects’ progress.
HIPL is in talks with UPMRC and other stakeholders to continue this relationship and work on the next set of stations too, as a top metro rail construction company in India.
Challenges in this project
Bada Chauraha, just like its name, is located in an area that sees a lot of activity. This meant securing an entire stretch for the excavation work and diverting the traffic on to a different path.
Transporting various construction materials, utilities, machinery etc was a task on hand, given that both the locations saw constant and heavy flow of vehicular and foot traffic in congested spaces.
Keeping up with the strict pollution control standards for construction in public spaces by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and Pollution Control Board (PCB). This was important even when we worked on the Delhi Metro Construction as it is notorious for its poor quality of air during winters.
One of the biggest challenges with construction for the metro station is managing the multiple teams of different stakeholders involved. Communication has to be smooth to ensure nothing goes off the rails.
There was a tight deadline from the government, as both the areas were active locations and holding up daily activities for long metro construction projects would mean inconveniencing the residents.
Solutions provided by HIPL
All four stations are underground metro rail stations, a basement had to be built with diaphragm walls (D-wall).
HIPL excavated deep, narrow trenches in the marked location using its fleet of deep excavators.
HIPL had to do diaphragm wall construction of 800 mm and 1000 mm for the metro construction project.
Both the projects were completed within the stipulated time duration of 6 months, despite the requirement of manual excavation during some phases of the projects.
Equipment and machines used for this metro construction project
HIPL is known for its enviable fleet of the most modern construction machinery, because of which it is known as one of the best diaphragm wall construction and piling construction companies in India. For all metro construction in India, HIPL uses the following heavy machinery apart from its usual excavators and earthmovers (JCBs).
Casagrande B125 Diaphragm Wall Grab Rig: This is a specialist contractor equipment to perform large diameter rotary and CFA piling for the construction of diaphragm wall.
Casagrande B200 Diaphragm Wall Grab Rig: It consists of a 240 kN high speed winch for effective and quick progression of work, while the H22 rotary head has a maximum torque output of 210 kNm and speed up to 34 RPM.
Important observations made by HIPL about these projects
Since the station was located in one of the most congested areas of Kanpur, there were high chances of surprise discoveries during the excavation. Prior to excavation, the location had to be checked for any undiscovered underground cables, pipelines or construction, which may cause disruption. This is important when providing underground construction services in India.
This meant manual excavation work had to be commissioned in the initial stages of the project. This took some time away from the project timeline and involved additional manpower, but was an important part of the work done as part of providing underground construction services in India.
Soil management was another important segment. Since city streets were constantly worked upon to cover damages and potholes, the drilling and tunnelling work had to be done in a manner that didn’t disturb any of the neighbouring plots, buildings and caused any form of damage or degradation of the soil.
The soil quality on these projects of the Kanpur Metro was good, we didn’t come across any rocks or solid strata while excavating.
For this particular city, we went with the 3 slabs in the underground metro stations. There was a top slab where people would enter, a concourse centre slab where all the movement of passengers takes place and the bottom slab which saw the metro train movement. Couplers have to be fixed onto the steel cage, very cautiously and tactically, while measuring levels to maintain the linearity of the levels.
Results
The project was completed within the stipulated time duration of 6 months, despite all the challenges brought about by unexpected elements such as the pandemic.
Upon seeing HIPL’s execution, technical expertise, strong team management and modern machinery usage, the UPMRC has decided to award the Agra Metro Project to the team that worked on the Kanpur metro along with AFCON.
To know more about this project, our underground construction services or our other services such as diaphragm wall construction in India or to collaborate with us on your upcoming projects, do get in touch with us today. Send us an email on info@heritageconstruction.in or call 07926840355
