Work is set to begin on an undersea tunnel at Nashik near Mumbai, for a high speed railway project.
The National High Speed Rail Company Limited (NHSRCL) said that the 7 km long tunnel will be of single tube and will measure 13.2 meters (43 feet) and will be the first undersea tunnel in the South Asian nation. It will form one segment of a single, some 21 kilometers in length in the Indian province of Maharashtra.
Challenges
“One of the most difficult parts of the project is building 21 km of tunnels for Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR corridor that comprises the 7-kilometer twin-track under-sea rail tunnel bored at Thane Creek,” Shri Rajendra Prasad, managing director of NHSRCL said in a statement that appeared on the company’s website. Construction techniques include three tunnel boring machines and new Austrian tunnelling method to undertake this tunnel construction. For example, based on the official specifications of NHSRCL, the twin-track tunnel will be at a depth of 25 to 65 meters and a 13. There shall be the use of one-meter diameter cutter head to bore. Construction shall be done through three shafts, with depth of 35m,39m,and 53m respectively.
A total of three bridges along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor have reportedly been constructed within a span of three months. The bridges were constructed by National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) in Gujarat, marking yet another milestone in the development of India’s maiden high-speed rail project.
The first bridge spans a total of 360 meters across the Purna River in Navsari district. Located between the Bilimora and Surat HSR stations, this bridge consists of nine full-span girders. Each girder measures 40 meters. The height of the piers supporting the Purna River Rail Bridge on the other hand range from 10 to 20 meters in height. They are circular in shape with a diameter of between 4 and 5 meters.
The 2nd and the 3rd river bridges
The second bridge on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor crosses the Mindhola River which is 240 meters wide. The river is in Navsari district. This bridge comprises six full-span girders which are also 40 meters tall. The piers supporting the Mindhola River Rail Bridge range from 10 to 15 meters in height and they are also circular with a diameter of four meters.
Also Read: Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail, India’s maiden high-speed rail project
Lastly, the third bridge is situated over the Ambika River in Navsari district. This bridge is 200 meters in length with a total of five full-span girders measuring 40 meters each. Circular piers with a diameter of 4, 5, and 5.5 meters, and height ranging from 12.6 to 23.4 meters support the Ambika River Rail Bridge.
These recently completed bridges bring the total number of river bridges constructed on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor to four. The four bridges were constructed within the past six months. The entire route comprises a total of 24 river bridges, 20 of which are in Gujarat and four in Maharashtra.
The overall progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project
Significant milestones have reportedly been achieved so far. The pile works for example have reached 305.9 kilometers while the foundation works span 251.2 kilometers. Piers on the other hand have been constructed along 208.9 kilometers while the viaduct extends over 69.3 kilometers.
As for the HSR stations in Gujarat, construction is underway at eight stations. The stations include Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati. They are all at various stages of completion.
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