Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project: Four Firms In Fray To Build Thane Maintenance Depot In Maharashtra

Four companies including two consortiums are vying to get the order to construct Thane Depot to support operations on the 508.17-km mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project after technical bids were opened on 30 May, as reported by The MetroRailGuy.

Firms competing for the order include KEC International Ltd, a global infrastructure EPC major and an RPG Group Company, engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Dineshchandra-DMRC JV and SCC-PREMCO JV.

Earlier in December 2022, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) had invited tenders to construct the Thane Depot in Maharashtra with a construction deadline of five and a half years.

The scope of the contract package (MAHSR D-1) includes civil works, building works, inspection sheds, maintenance depot, and installation, testing and commissioning of maintenance facilities, and other associated works in the Thane depot.

Rolling Stock Maintenance

An essential ingredient for successful running of a High-Speed Railway is well-developed and advance maintenance system.

To this end, three depots have been planned for the project - two in Gujarat at Sabarmati and Surat and one in Maharashtra at Thane.

Area wise, Surat Depot will be the smallest depot spreading across 38 hectares followed by Thane Depot spread across approximately 58 hectares and Sabarmati Bullet Train maintenance depot spread over 82 hectares.

Thane and Surat Depot will have facilities for daily inspection, regular inspection and unscheduled maintenance of trains.

In addition to daily and regular inspections and unscheduled maintenance of rolling stocks, Sabarmati depot will have the facilities for bogie and general overhauling as well. The Sabarmati depot will also have bullet trains washing facilities.

Sabarmati Depot

The NHSRCL in Dec 2022 issued a work order worth JPY 63 billion (approx. Rs 3,773.79 crore) to a consortium comprising of Japanese firm Sojitz Corporation and Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) for the construction of Sabarmati depot.

The work on the rail depot in Sabarmati, which is located northwest of Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat has started with completion expected in 2028. The preparatory works for the construction of the facility are already in progress under another package.

The design of the facility is based on Shinkansen maintenance facilities at Sendai and Kanazawa in Japan.

Around 250 types of more than 800 numbers of specialised machineries required to inspect and maintain the rolling stock will be procured from Japan for this depot, including checking for vibrations, temperature, noise which are critical for high-speed running and will ensure passenger comfort.

MAHSR

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) is currently the only sanctioned High-Speed Rail in the country.

The High-Speed Rail operating at 320 kmph will traverse along west India’s landscape, covering 508.17 km distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in just about two hours. This will save time compared to current travel time between the two terminal stations by about nine hours (by bus) or six hours (by conventional railways).

The country’s first ‘bullet’ train, a nickname the train gets from its bullet-like shape and speed, will pass through Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Maharashtra, with 12 stations en route.