Mumbai: Preparations have started to speed up PM Narendra Modi’s dream project Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train from Mumbai. After getting the plot for the bullet train’s terminus at BKC, Mumbai, NHSRCL has now floated the tender for the 21 km long tunnel.
It is noteworthy that for the last three years, the work of the bullet trains in Maharashtra was stalled. As soon as the government changes in the state, the work of land acquisition for the bullet train is starting at a fast pace. The Union Forest Environment Ministry has approved the use of 236.85 acres of forest land in the state for the bullet train project.
Tunnel from BKC to Shilphata
A 21 km long tunnel will be built for the bullet train from BKC to Shilphata in Thane. A 7 km under-sea tunnel will also be built using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail. This tunnel will be about 25 to 65 meters deep from the ground level and the deepest construction will be 114 meters below Parsik hill near Shilphata. Its work will start in the new year.
The first tunnel underwater
For the bullet train project, an underwater tunnel will be built for the first time in the country. According to the NHSRC, the Thane creek (intertidal zone) will have about 7 km of underwater single-tube tunnel. Inside which twin tracks will be made. TBM with a cutter head of 13.1 m diameter will be used for the construction of this tunnel. For tunnels being constructed in the MRTS-Metro system, 5-6 meter diameter cutter heads are used. Three tunnel boring machines will be used to make about 16 km of the tunnel and the remaining 5 km will be from the New Austrian Tunneling Method.
Fast-paced work in Gujarat
According to a senior NHSRC official, with land acquisition in Maharashtra accelerating, almost 100 percent of the land has been acquired in Gujarat and Dadra Nagar Haveli. Here the work of the corridor is in full swing. Work will soon be visible on the ground in Maharashtra too. The tender for the work of the underground station in BKC may also be final by October.
