The work on India’s first Bullet Train project is in progress. The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the implementing agency of the Bullet Train project, recently took a significant step forward in the project’s development work by casting the first full height pier near Vapi, in the state of Gujarat at Chainage 167 on the High Speed Rail Corridor, connecting the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad, which will run through a total of 12 stations linking Gujarat, Maharashtra, and the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. According to NHSRCL, the average height of the pier on this high speed rail corridor is around 12 to 15 metres and the exact height of this casted pier is 13.05 metres, which is almost similar to a four storey building.
According to NHSRCL the pier has been casted with 183 cubic meters of concrete quantity as well as 18.820 MT of steel. According to the corporation, one of the major features of the corridor is the special shuttering arrangement in the lift, providing better quality in eight hours. NHSRCL further claimed that it achieved this major construction milestone despite a severe shortage of workers as well as other logistical challenges because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and also, the ongoing rainy season in the region. In the coming months, there are a number of such piers planned to be casted, paving way for the country’s first high speed rail corridor project.
The high speed rail corridor will have a length of 508.17 kilometres in total. It will cover 12 stations in total namely Mumbai, Thane, Boisar, Virar (in the state of Maharashtra), Surat, Vapi, Bilimora, Vadodara, Bharuch, Anand, Sabarmati and Ahmedabad (in the state of Gujarat). The Bullet Train will be running at a speed of 320 kmph at an elevated track on a viaduct all along except 26 kilometres in the city of Mumbai, which will be an underground stretch. All high speed rail corridor stations will be elevated except Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex station.
Cover Image- Financial Express