Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Construction in High Speed: 3 River Bridges Built in a Month

Making significant progress, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has constructed three river bridges in a period of one month for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR), also known as the bullet train project.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the NHSRCL said that all these bridges are in Gujarat and are located between Bilimora and Surat stations of the bullet train project.

ON PURNA, MINDHOLA AND AMBIKA RIVERS

The first river bridge was completed on Purna river in Navsari district. The 360-m-long bridge consists of nine full span girders. Continuous monitoring of high and low tides from Arabian Sea was done during the construction. The foundation work was challenging as water level in the river would rise 5-6 m during high tides, it added.

The second river bridge was completed on Mindhola river, also in Navsari district. It is 240-m-long and has six full span girders.

The third river bridge was completed on Ambika river, again in Navsari district. This 200-m-long bridge has five full span girders. The construction of the third bridge was a challenging task as there was a steep slope of the river bank and underground rocky strata during piling, the NHSRCL said.

​In total, there will be 24 river bridges on the MAHSR corridor in Gujarat and Maharashtra, of which 20 are in Gujarat and four are in Maharashtra. So far, four river bridges have been completed for the MAHSR corridor in the past six months.

The longest river bridge (2.28km) will be constructed on Vaitarna river in Maharashtra, another 1.2-km-long bridge is being constructed on Narmada river, Gujarat.

In the statement, Rajendra Prasad, Managing Director, NHSRCL said that construction of bridges over the rivers is very challenging and meticulous planning is required.

“During the construction of bridges over Mindhola and Purna rivers, the tides from the Arabian sea were closely monitored. Our engineers worked at a height of 26 m for the construction of the bridge over Ambika river,” he said.

WORK BEGAN IN SEPTEMBER 2017

High-speed trains on Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor will operate at a speed of 320 km/hour covering a distance of 508 km and 12 stations.

There will be 35 trains per day in one direction, with a frequency of 20 minutes in peak hours and 30 minutes in non-peak hours.

The total length of the bullet train corridor is divided into three states/UTs – 156 km in Maharashtra, 4 km in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and 384 km in Gujarat.

The work on the country’s first bullet train started in September 2017 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Japanese Prime Minister late Shinzo Abe jointly laid the foundation stone for the project.

The total cost of the MAHSR project was estimated as Rs 1,08,000 crore in 2015. However, the final project cost will be ascertained only after completion of land acquisition, finalisation of all contract packages and associated timelines.

About 81% cost of the MAHSR is being borne by the Government of Japan and remaining is being provided through the Equity by the shareholders — Government of India (Ministry of Railways) (50%), Government of Gujarat (25%) and Government of Maharashtra (25%).