Construction of 12 out of 20 planned river bridges in Gujarat for the 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor has been completed, according to the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL). The latest, a 120-meter bridge over the Kharera River in Navsari district, marks the completion of all nine bridges between Vapi and Surat.

The bullet train project spans 352 km in Gujarat and 156 km in Maharashtra, connecting 12 stations from Mumbai to Sabarmati, and is expected to cut travel time between Ahmedabad and Mumbai to about three hours, down from the current 6-8 hours.

Construction has progressed across multiple locations, including bridges over rivers like Par, Purna, Mindhola, Ambika, Auranga, Kolak, Kaveri, and Venganiya. Additionally, bridges have been completed over Dhadhar in Vadodara district and Mohar and Vatrak rivers in Kheda district.

As of October 21, 2024, all 1,389.5 hectares of required land for the project have been acquired, and tenders for civil, depot, and track work in Gujarat have been awarded. Construction on all 12 stations is underway, as is work on a 21-km tunnel with a 7-km undersea segment, located 36 meters below ground and set to be India’s largest undersea tunnel with a 12.1-meter diameter for dual tracks.

Sixteen kilometers of the tunnel will be constructed using Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM), and the remaining 5 km by the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). Progress on three shafts for TBM deployment is nearly complete, and NATM tunnel boring is active on three simultaneous faces to accelerate the project’s timeline. (Business Standard)