Work on the 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor has progressed on several fronts, with 359 km of viaduct construction and 453 km of pier work completed, as per Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Sharing the latest progress of India’s first Bullet Train project, Fadnavis stated 297 km of noise barriers have also been installed, whereas more than 9,000 overhead equipment (OHE) masts have been erected across 200 km.
Calling the progress “a massive milestone in India’s high speed rail journey,” Fadnavis mentioned the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor is making steady progress.
Key points
-359 km viaduct completed
-297 km noise barriers installed
-453 km pier work done
-9,000+OHE masts errected
How much Bullet Train work is complete?
Apart from the viaduct and pier work, 215 km of reinforced concrete (RC) track bed has been completed. Track slabs with cement asphalt motor (CAM) injection have been completed across 91 km.
Fadnavis’s progress update also features four mountain tunnels, a 5-km New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) tunnel, 17 river bridges and 15 steel bridges among the work completed till now.
Underlining the eventual benefit for passengers, Fadnavis mentioned,” A journey that takes around 6 hours by road will take just 2 hours and 7 minutes by Bullet Train.”
Mumbai Bullet Train station to be built 10 storeys below ground?
One of the most complex sections of the project is being constructed underground in and around Mumbai. The Mumbai Bullet Train station at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) is being built approximately 10 storeys below ground. It will have six platforms designed for 16- coach trains.
The first 21 km of the corridor will be completely underground. Of this, around 7 km will cross beneath Thane Creek as part of what the project video describes as India’s first undersea tunnel.
Excavation using tunnel boring machines is underway, with the corridor eventually emerging near Shilphata in Thane district.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train: All 21 stations
The 508-km corridor will have 12 stations between Mumbai and Sabramati. They are: Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand-Nadiad, Amdavad and Sabarmati.
Work advances across key structures
Once the alignment emerges from the underground section, much of the corridor will operate on elevated viaducts. The overall project includes 28 steel bridges, whereas as per Fadnavis latest update 15 steel bridges have been completed.
The corridor will also cross 25 rivers and creeks between Mumbai and Sabarmati. Fadnavis mentioned 17 river bridges among the completed works.
In Palghar district, the project alignment includes seven mountain tunnels, of which four mountain tunnel works have been completed so far.
Track construction is also being carried out to high precision. As per the video shared by the Maharashtra CM, the ballastless slab track is being laid to a tolerance of under one millimetre.
Super depot and multimodal connectivity
Surat will have a rolling stock depot where the first set of Bullet Trains will be received. As per the project video, a wheel lathe has been installed, whereas machinery and track installation are underway.
Surat station is planned to provide connections with other transport systems, including Metro and Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS).
At the other end of the corridor, Sabarmati is planned as a multimodal hub, bringing together the Bullet Train, metro, suburban train and rapid transit systems for onward connectivity.