The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has awarded the last civil package (C3) of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor project, a 135-km route which includes seven tunnels and a 2-km long bridge over Vaitarna river in Maharashtra.
“With this, all three civil packages of Maharashtra portion - construction of Mumbai (Bandra Kurla Complex) station (C1), 21-km tunnel including a 7-km undersea portion (C2) and 135-km alignment (C3) of MAHSR have been awarded,” said NHSRCL spokesperson.
Trains are slated to start their run by August 2026. They expected to run at 320 km/hour.
This also marks the award of all 11 civil packages of the 508-km-long MAHSR corridor, comprising 465-km long viaducts, 12 stations, three rolling stock depots, 28 steel bridges comprising 10 km of viaduct, 24 river bridges, and nine tunnels including India’s first undersea tunnel which will be 7-km long.
The MAHSR corridor is divided into 28 contract packages, of which 11 are civil. They were awarded in a span of 33 months. The first civil contract for the construction of 237-km viaducts including four stations (Vapi, Bilimora, Surat and Bharuch) and Surat rolling stock depot in Gujarat was awarded on October 28, 2020, which was also the largest civil contract awarded in India.
To expedite the construction of viaducts (a type of long bridge or series of bridges) for the first time in India, full-span girders of 40-metre length weighing 970 tonnes were launched through a one-of-a-kind Full Span Launching Equipment set: Straddle Carrier, Bridge Gantry, Girder Transporter and Girder Launcher, which are designed and manufactured in India. “This technology is about 10 times faster than the conventional segment-launching technology and has provided new dimension to the construction industry,” the NHSRCL spokesperson said.
This mega infrastructure project is expected to consume 1.6 crore cubic metres of cement and 17 lakh metric tonnes of steel and act as a catalyst for the cement and steel industries.
“The tenders for track works for the complete MAHSR section in Gujarat i.e. 352 km out of total 508 km have also been awarded. The training of Indian engineers and Work Leaders for High-Speed Rail Track system has already started. About 1,000 engineers and technicians are planned to be trained in the specially created facility at Surat depot. Around 20 Japanese experts will impart intensive training to the Indian engineers, supervisors and technicians and certify their skills,” the spokesperson further added.
