Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train: The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), overseeing the construction of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor, has said 100 kilometres of viaducts and 230 kilometres of pier work had been completed for the ambitious project.
The project achieved this milestone of construction of a cumulative 100 km of viaducts through the launching of 40 m long 'full span box girders' and 'segmental girders', the NHSRCL said on Thursday.
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Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also shared a video on social media platform X to give information about the feat.
'Viaducts include bridges over six Gujarat rivers'
According to the NHSRCL, the viaducts include bridges over six Gujarat rivers, namely Par and Auranga in Valsad district, as well as Purna, Mindhola, Ambika and Venganiya in Navsari district.
"The first girder of the project was launched on November 25, 2021, while the first kilometre of the viaduct was ready in six months on June 30, 2022. It achieved the construction of 50 kilometres of the viaduct on April 22, 2023, and, thereafter, in six months 100 kilometres of viaduct were completed," the NHSRCL said.
"The Full Span Launching technique (FSLM), where 40-metre long box girders are launched by state-of-the-art equipment, is being used along with span-by-span launching of segments. FSLM is 10 times faster than the span-by-span method, which is normally used to build metro viaducts," it added.
Apart from the viaduct work, 250 kilometres of pier work has also been completed for the project, while installation of noise barriers has begun along the constructed viaduct.
"Besides this, the laying of the first reinforced concrete (RC) track bed for the Mumbai Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor track system as used in the Japanese Shinkansen has also started in Surat," the NHSRCL said. This is for the first time, the J-slab ballastless track system is being used in India.
It said that the breakthrough of the first mountain tunnel of 350 m has been completed in the Valsad district in Gujarat. "First steel bridge of 70 metres length has been erected in Surat district, Gujarat. This is the first of the 28 steel bridges which will be the part of MAHSR corridor," it added.
Cost of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor
The total cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor project is pegged at Rs 1.08 lakh crore. As per the shareholding pattern, the Union government will pay Rs 10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, while Gujarat and Maharashtra are to pay Rs 5,000 crore each.
The rest of the cost is by way of a loan at 0.1 per cent interest from Japan. The foundation of the bullet train project was laid in Ahmedabad in September 2017. The train is expected to cover a distance of more than 500 km in around two hours.
(With PTI inputs)
