Minister of State for Railways Darshana Jardosh was present on Monday for the launch of the casting of a full span pre-stressed concrete (PSC) box girder to be used for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed rail corridor, popularly called a ‘bullet train’. The casting of a full span pre-stressed concrete (PSC) box girder to be used for upcoming India’s first, Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train corridor was launched. The casting of the girder was initiated at a casting yard near Naslipore village, and it was the second PSC box girder being developed for the Bullet Train corridor, said the project’s implementing agency- National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).
Four days ago, the first such full span girder was built in a casting yard in the district of Anand, the agency said, adding that the box girder of 40 meter span will weigh approximately 970 tonnes. According to NHSRCL, the PSC box girder, which will be the heaviest in India’s construction industry, is being cast as a single piece, that is without any construction joint, with 42 tonnes of steel and 390 cubic metres of concrete. Jardosh also said this is the first time that such a large girder will be cast in India. As the launching process of the former was seven times faster, full span girders were preferred over segmental girders, NHSRCL said. It further added that 23 casting yards, on plots ranging from 16 acres to 93 acres, have been set up along the high speed rail corridor’s alignment.
L&T Construction said it had commenced casting full span box girders for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project at Navsari, near the city of Surat, to build viaducts for the elevated corridor. These girders, weighing 970 tonnes, are among the heaviest pre-stressed concrete spans in the country, the company said. The project is 508 kilometres long, of which 348 kilometre stretch falls in Gujarat, 156 kilometre stretch in Maharashtra and 4 kilometes in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.