Bullet train project: Railways shares then-now pics of 3 bridges in Gujarat

The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is overseeing the construction of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor or popularly called the bullet train project, said that the project has made significant progress, citing the completion of three river bridges in last one month in Gujarat. Railways has tweeted the before-after pics of the three bridges, saying "expediting advancements on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project."

The three bridges are between Bilimora and Surat HSR station. The first river bridge (length 360 metres) was completed on Purna river, Gujarat's Navsari district. The challenges included continuous monitoring of high and low tides from Arabian Sea during the construction. The foundation work was also challenging as water level in the river was rising 5-6 m (fortnightly) during high tides, NHSRCL said. The second bridge is on Mindhola rover (240 meters) and the third on Ambika river (200 meters).

The challenges for construction of Ambika river bridge included steep slope of the river bank, underground rocky strata during piling and maximum pier height including pier cap was around 26 m (equal to 10 storey building). It was challenging to work at this height inside the river, NHSRCL said.


According to National High-Speed Rail Corporation, till date, four river bridges have been completed for MAHSR corridor in last six months. There are total 24 river bridges on MAHSR corridor, out of which 20 are in Gujarat and four are in Maharashtra. The construction river bridge of 1.2 km on Narmada river in the bullet train project is currently in progress. A 2.28 km long bridge will be constructed on Vaitarna river in Maharashtra.

"Construction of bridges over the rivers are very challenging and meticulous planning is required. During the construction of bridges over Mindhola and Purna rivers, the tides from the Arabian sea were closely monitored. Our engineers worked on a height of 26 m for the construction of bridge over Ambika river,” said Rajendra Prasad, Managing Director, NHSRCL

Bullet trains on Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor will operate at a speed of 320 Km/hour covering a distance 508 km.