"Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project Hits Milestone with Completion of 100 km Viaducts and 230 km Pier Work"

The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), spearheading the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor, has announced a significant achievement in the project, with the completion of 100 kilometers of viaducts and 230 kilometers of pier work.
The NHSRCL revealed on Thursday that the milestone of constructing 100 km of viaducts was accomplished through the launch of 40-meter long 'full span box girders' and 'segmental girders.' Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared a video on X to provide insights into this remarkable feat.
The viaducts, integral to the project, include bridges spanning six Gujarat rivers, namely Par and Auranga in Valsad district, as well as Purna, Mindhola, Ambika, and Venganiya in Navsari district.
The NHSRCL highlighted that the Full Span Launching technique (FSLM), utilizing state-of-the-art equipment to launch 40-meter long box girders, contributed to achieving this milestone. The FSLM approach is reported to be ten times faster than the span-by-span method typically used in metro viaduct construction.
"The first girder of the project was launched on November 25, 2021, while the first kilometer of viaduct was ready in six months on June 30, 2022. It achieved the construction of 50 kilometers of viaduct on April 22, 2023, and, thereafter, in six months, 100 kilometers of viaduct were completed," stated the NHSRCL.
In addition to the viaduct progress, the project has seen the completion of 250 kilometers of pier work. The installation of noise barriers along the constructed viaduct has commenced, and the laying of the first reinforced concrete (RC) track bed for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor track system, modeled after the Japanese Shinkansen, has begun in Surat.
The total cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor project is estimated at ₹1.08 lakh crore. As per the shareholding pattern, the Union government is slated to contribute ₹10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, with Gujarat and Maharashtra contributing ₹5,000 crore each. The remaining cost is covered through a loan with a 0.1 per cent interest rate from Japan.
The foundation for the bullet train project was laid in Ahmedabad in September 2017, and the train is expected to cover a distance of over 500 km in approximately two hours once operational.
HBL