Here is the latest on the Bullet train project – the NHSRCL indicated that it has entered the final readiness phase and achieved a significant engineering milestone. Five heavy portal beams have been installed over active Indian Railways tracks in Maninagar, Ahmedabad. This is part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project, and the entire operation was completed in 22 days, the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) announced.
As per the company’s statement, the beams were launched sequentially on April 8, 13, 19, 24, and 29, 2026. The heaviest, placed on April 8, weighed approximately 1,360 MT, making it one of the heaviest lifts ever carried out over operational railway lines in India. The remaining four beams ranged between 1,170 MT and 1,360 MT each.
Bullet train project: Importance of the portal beams
The site at Maninagar presents particular engineering constraints. The bullet train alignment crosses the existing Ahmedabad-Vadodara corridor, which carries up, down, and third lines, at an elevated, skewed angle, with a span of roughly 30 to 34 metres between piers.
Portal beams were chosen for their rigidity and load-bearing capacity, which minimises deflection and helps maintain track geometry over a heavily trafficked route, NHSRCL said in a statement.
Portal beam scale and specifications
Each beam measures 34 metres in length with a 5.5 by 4.5 metre cross-section, precast at the site before being lifted into position. Collectively, the five beams represent one of the most substantial structural operations undertaken on railway infrastructure in India, as per NHSRCL.
A first for Indian Railways
The primary equipment used was a 2,200 MT crawler crane, deployed over Indian railway tracks for the first time in the country. Each lift was completed in approximately 3.5 hours, down from the nine-hour traffic blocks that had been the earlier benchmark.
The operation was conducted in close coordination with Indian Railways, with continuous monitoring throughout. Overhead electrification lines and the confined working space added to the complexity of each launch.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor is India’s first bullet train project, covering approximately 508 kilometres between the two cities.