Kanpur Metro completes first three piers, U-girder casting commenced

Kanpur, India (Urban Transport News): After completing the first three piers of priority corridor (IIT Kanpur to Motijheel) of Kanpur Metro Rail project, the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited (UPMRC) has now started casting of U-girders from January 20, 2020. UPMRC's Managing Director Kumar Keshav flagged off the concreting procedure of the first U-Girder after a Pooja Ceremony in Kanpur. Congratulating the project team, Kumar Keshav, MD, UPMRC said:

The construction work of the Kanpur Metro project is being executed faster than the Lucknow Metro project. The casting of the first U-girder of Kanpur Metro has been started about two and a half months earlier than the Lucknow Metro and is a major achievement for UPMRC. Lucknow Metro project has the distinction of being the fastest constructed and executed Metro Project in the country and I congratulate the entire metro team that the work of Kanpur Metro is being done faster than Lucknow Metro.

What is U-girder

The platform that is prepared and placed on top of the piers (pillars) of the viaduct, on which the metro track is laid, is called a U-girder. These girders are pre-casted or pre-fabricated in the casting yard and are then placed with a crane over the pillars at a fixed time (at night) considering the aspect of safety.

Specifications of a U-Girder

Around 600 girders will be cast for the Priority Corridor. A girder will have a length of about 27 meters and a weight of about 147 tons. An arrangement has been made to prepare 18 girders simultaneously in the casting yard of Kanpur Metro and a complete set of 6 girders will be prepared at one time.

Team of Afcons Infrastructure Limited has completed the casting of 3 piers till January 15, 2015. A total of 295 piers for the viaduct and 198 piers of 9 metro stations has to be erected on the priority corridor of the Kanpur Metro Rail project. Tender for selection of General Consultants (GC) for the project has also been floated by UPMRC. The GC is likely to finalize in March this year. The GC will help UPMRC to execute the project work in a proper manner.

The General Consultants will responsible for providing consultancy services in preparation for civil and system contracts, finalisation, evaluation, proof checking of civil structure designs, safety at the site, quality checks for material, procurement of Rolling Stock, and testing & commissioning of the overall project etc.