300 Km Viaduct For Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project Completed

News18

20-05-2025

Last Updated:
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said that 300 km of viaducts for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project has been completed.
Achieving a key milestone, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said that 300 km of viaducts for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project has been completed.
The National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL), body executing the development of the project has said that key milestone was accomplished after the launch of a 40 metre-long girder near Surat in Gujarat.
Vaishnaw also shared a video of the superstructure being constructed through the Full Span Launching Method (FSLM).
300 km viaduct completed.— Bullet Train Project pic.twitter.com/dPP25lU2Gy — Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) May 20, 2025
According to the NHSRCL, of the 300 km of the superstructure, 257.4 km is constructed through the Full Span Launching Method (FSLM), including 14 rover bridges, 37.8 km through Span by Span (SBS), 0.9 km of steel bridges (10 spans ranging from 60 to 130 m in 7 bridges), 1.2 km PSC bridges (20 spans ranging from 40 to 80 metres in 5 bridges) and 2.7 km in station building, news agency PTI reported.
According to the corporation, the viaducts include bridges over six rivers flowing through Gujarat, namely Par and Auranga in Valsad, Purna, Mindhola, Ambika and Venganiya rivers in Navsari district.
Besides the viaducts, 383 km of pier work, 401 km of foundation and 326 km of girder casting has been completed for the 508-km bullet train project, the agency said.
FSLM has significantly accelerated construction, as full-span girder erection is up to 10 times faster than conventional segmental methods, NHSRCL said.
Each full-span box girder weighs 970 metric tonnes, and segmental girders are used selectively in locations where full-span installation is not feasible. It further said that the viaducts are built using 40-metre-long full span box girders and segmental girders.
To facilitate construction, 27 dedicated casting yards were established along the corridor. Steel bridges are fabricated in seven workshops spread across the country, three in Gujarat, one each in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, the NHSRCL said.
The agency said more than 3 lakh noise barriers have been installed along the viaducts to mitigate noise during operations. Track works over viaducts have also started, and around 157 track km of RC (reinforced concrete) track bed construction has been achieved so far in Gujarat.
It further said that thematic Bullet Train stations are also rapidly taking shape. These stations will be integrated with rail and road-based transport systems to provide seamless travel to passengers and will be equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities.
'The project has supported the use of indigenously designed and manufactured equipment such as straddle carriers, launching gantries, bridge gantries, and girder transporters for construction," NHSRCL stated, adding that this marks a first for Indian infrastructure, showcasing India's growing capabilities in high-speed rail technology with the support from the Japanese government.
All About Bullet Train Project
The bullet train project connecting Mumbai with Ahmedabad will have 12 stations, including nine in Gujarat and three in Maharashtra. While the one in Mumbai is underground, the ones at Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati are elevated.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor project, being developed at the cost of Rs 1.08 lakh crore, was launched by PM Narendra Modi and his then-Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in September 2017.
As per the shareholding pattern, the Government of India is to pay Rs 10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, while the two states involved, Gujarat and Maharashtra, are to pay Rs 5,000 crore each. The rest is to be paid by Japan through a loan at 0.1 per cent interest.
(With inputs from PTI)