Bullet train: First steel bridge set up in Maharashtra after being transported over 1,000 km

Thane: A 100-metre-long bridge, weighing 1,405 metric tonnes, for the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project has been installed in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said on Tuesday.

It is the first steel bridge set up in Maharashtra as part of the project, they said, adding that the structure was transported on trailers from a workshop in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, located 1,300 km away, and assembled on site for installation, the officials said.

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The 14-metre-high and as-wide structure was launched over National Highway-3 at Dive-Anjur village in the Bhiwandi area here on Monday, a release by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) said.

With this installation, 16 out of the total 28 steel bridges planned along the entire bullet train corridor have now been completed, it said.

Exemplifying indigenous technical and material capability under the Make in India initiative, the bridge was fabricated at a specialised workshop in Trichy. The structure was transported over 1,300 km via heavy trailers to Thane, where it was assembled on site, the release said.

The complex launch operation was carefully executed to ensure structural safety while minimising disruption to highway commuters, it said.

The structure also incorporates a protective painting system and elastomeric bearings to enhance durability and manage vibrations.

An automated system pulled the completed bridge into place during scheduled night traffic blocks on the highway, the release added.

The country's first 508-km dedicated high-speed rail line connecting Mumbai in Maharashtra to Ahmedabad in Gujarat is aimed at sharply cutting the travel time between the two cities.