The Hindu : New Delhi News : Country's first pre-cast station at Chawri Bazar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 20, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Country's first pre-cast station at Chawri Bazar

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI, FEB. 19 .In its urgency to complete the underground Metro Corridor from Kashmere Gate to Central Secretariat three months ahead of schedule in June 2005 to allow it some time for opening another major line from Dwarka to Barakhamba later in the year, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has gone forth and built the first pre-cast railway station in the country at Chawri Bazar.

Though it was initially planned to have in situ casting, due to the time involved in the process, the DMRC sought to make the platforms using the pre-casting technique.

And so was evolved an elaborate plan whereby the casting work for both the platforms was undertaken at the Nangloi casting yard.

In all around 240 pre-cast segments were made for the two platforms having a length of around 150 metres each. But, as a senior DMRC official said, no one noticed the work involved as the cast segments were brought to the station site at night on trailer trucks and were then put into their place.

This saved the Delhi Metro around two months time and allowed it the chance to meet the early deadline for completion of this section.

Incidentally, the use of pre-casting technology made the Chawri Bazar station the first in the country to have been made in this manner and has virtually thrown the door open for replicating the model.

Situated in one of the cost congested parts of Old Delhi, this station lies below around 800 residential and commercial dwellings.

Its tunnels and cross passages connecting the platform tunnels were constructed using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method.

Incidentally, to access the station two vertical shafts have been constructed in the open areas of Hauz Qazi Chowk and Amar Cinema.

As the space available around these shafts was very limited, to minimise displacement of business as well as residential units, additional space was first created by casting top slabs before excavation at Hauz Qazi Chowk and by providing sufficient decking at Amar Cinema site.

With the Kashmere Gate station already operational, DMRC only has five others at Old Delhi railway station, Chawri Bazar, Connaught Place, Patel Chowk and Central Secretariat to complete in order to start operations.

The official said since the line would only be an extension of the Delhi University-Kashmere Gate line, integrated testing would not be required for a long period of time.

Already, the tracks have been laid and the electrification work has been completed. The other systems, like ventilation are being put into place and checked.

While the finishing touches are being given now, the official said, trials with the rolling stock would begin sometime in April or May so that the new corridor, which would connect the rest of Delhi to the heritage area of Walled City, the commercial hub of Connaught Place and the power centre, Central Secretariat, meets its date with the Capital.

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