June 14, 2023: Taking another step in the development of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has signed a contract with Afcons Infrastructure for the construction of a 21-kilometre (km) tunnel in Maharashtra.
This will be between underground stations at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and Shilphata. A part of this project will be India’s first 7 km undersea rail tunnel to be constructed at the Thane Creek. The entire rail tunnel will be about 25 to 65 m deep from the ground level.
While the technical bids of this tender were opened on February 9 2023, the financial bids were opened on April 6, 2023.
“Construction of a 21-km tunnel is one of the most challenging contracts of Mumbai- Ahmedabad HSR corridor, which includes construction of the country’s first twin-track undersea rail tunnel of 7 km at Thane Creek. Three Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) and New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) will be used for the construction of this tunnel,” said Rajendra Prasad, managing director, NHSRCL.
The tunnel will be a single tube tunnel to accommodate twin tracks for both up and down route. Three TBMs will be used to construct about 16 km of the tunnel portion and the remaining 5 km will be through NATM.
Three shafts at BKC (under package C1), Vikhroli and Sawli at approximate depths of 36, 56 and 39 m depth respectively, will help in the construction. An inclined shaft of 42 m at Ghansoli and a tunnel portal at Shilphata will help in the construction of a 5-km tunnel.
Source: NHSRCL
Afcons has also constructed India’s first underwater Metro project in Kolkata that will be open for the public by the end of 2023.
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