Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train: On Friday, bids were invited by the National High Speed Railway Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) for the construction of a 21-km long tunnel for India’s first Bullet Train project, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor. A spokesperson of the NHSRCL was quoted saying in a PTI report that the tunnel will be constructed between the underground station at Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata in the district of Thane, Maharashtra. The NHSRCL has invited the bids for the tunnelling work 21 kilometres underground, including a 7 kilometre long undersea tunnel to be constructed using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) as well as New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), the spokesperson said.
The official further said the package is open to Indian and Japanese firms. According to the report, the total cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Corridor project is pegged at an amount of Rs 1.08 lakh crore. As per the shareholding pattern for the high speed rail corridor project, the central government is to pay Rs 10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, while the state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat are to pay an amount of Rs 5,000 crore each. The remaining amount is to be paid through a loan by Japan at 0.1 per cent interest, the report added.
Earlier this month, financial bids were opened by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited for design as well as the construction of approx. 18 kilometres of the viaduct between Anand and Sabarmati including High Speed Rail stations at the cities of Ahmedabad and Sabarmati for the Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor project under C7 package. The financial bids of four technically qualified bidders were opened and according to the corporation, IRCON – DINESHCHANDRA JV is the lowest bidder. On the upcoming Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor, Bullet Trains will operate at a speed of 320 km per hour, covering a distance of 508 kilometres and a total of 12 stations.