12 river bridges completed in Gujarat for bullet train corridor

TWELVE of the 20 planned river bridges for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor in Gujarat have been completed, officials confirmed on Sunday.

The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) announced that the latest bridge, measuring 120 metres, was recently completed over the Kharera river in Navsari district, marking the 12th bridge along the Gujarat section of the 508-km corridor. The project spans 352 km in Gujarat and 156 km in Maharashtra, with 12 stations planned along the route, including Mumbai, Thane, Surat, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad.

The bullet train is expected to reduce travel time between Ahmedabad and Mumbai from 6-8 hours to around 3 hours. "The bridge on the Kharera river, Navsari district, was completed on 29 October 2024, finishing all nine river bridges between the Vapi and Surat stations along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor," the NHSRCL said in a statement.

The Kharera is a tributary of the Ambika river, which originates in the hills of Vansda taluka on the Gujarat-Maharashtra border. The river lies about 45 km from the Vapi station and 6 km from the Bilimora station.

In addition to Kharera, bridges have been built over rivers such as the Par, Purna, Mindhola, Ambika, Auranga, Kolak, Kaveri, and Venganiya between Vapi and Surat. Bridges over the Dhadhar in Vadodara district and the Mohar and Vatrak in Kheda district have also been completed, NHSRCL reported.

As of 21 October 2024, all 1,389.5 hectares of land for the project have been acquired, and all major civil, depot, and track contracts for the Gujarat section have been awarded. Work is ongoing at all 12 stations, and construction has started on a 21-km tunnel, including a 7-km undersea section, NHSRCL added.

"The undersea tunnel, located about 36 metres below ground, will have a diameter of 12.1 metres to accommodate both up and down tracks in a single tunnel—this is the first time a tunnel of this diameter is being built underwater in India," NHSRCL stated.

NHSRCL also noted that 16 km of the tunnel will be built using a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), while the remaining 5 km will use the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM). Special slurry-type TBMs with a cutter head diameter of 13.6 metres have been procured for the project.

"Three shafts for the TBMs are nearing completion, and the 394-metre Additional Driven Intermediate Tunnel (ADIT) is finished, with tunnelling underway through NATM at three points to speed up progress," the NHSRCL said.

(With inputs from PTI)