Liebherr main bearings for a new Mumbai metro line

Liebherr main bearings are specially designed for high continuous loads and reliable, fail-safe drilling. In Mumbai, India, a new metro line is currently under construction, aimed at improving traffic and rail congestion of the city. In this giant project, the Robbins Company has been entrusted with parts of the tunnel boring work. To do the job, Robbins relies once again on Liebherr’s proven main bearings.

2.8 km long tunnels

Starting in June 2018, the twin Robbins Crossover TBMs bore in parallel 2.8 km long tunnels. The twin 6.65 meters machines combine features of a hard rock single shield TBM and an earth pressure balance machine and are ideal for application in mixed geology.

THE POWERFUL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIEBHERR AND CUMMINS

They are able not only to bore in hard rock, but also operate in soft ground, using a screw conveyor at each machine’s centreline with a bulkhead gate and discharge gate. The mixed grounds in Mumbai consist of basalt, shale, tuff and breccia, as well as possible water pressures of up to 2 bar. Such mixed geology pose particular challenges to both machines and material. This, in turn, places high demands also on the components in the tunnel boring machines.

Why Liebherr main bearings?

«Liebherr is more than a supplier, Liebherr is a partner we can depend on to supply the most critical components on our machine», said Mike Kolenich, Director of Supply Chain at Robbins.

LIEBHERR SERVICE NETWORK FOR COMMON RAIL SYSTEMS

«In general, Liebherr has provided an excellent product within the schedule restrictions given by the customer. We visited Liebherr facilities in Germany and remained impressed with the overall organization of the production line, the clean and efficient working environment and the customer service provided», added Matias Iovine, Project Manager Mumbai Metro at Robbins. The project is expected to be fully operational in December 2021.