Work On 360 Metre Long Second River Bridge In Bullet Train Project Completed

In a significant achievement, the second river bridge on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor has been completed.

The 360-metre-long river bridge atop Purna river falling between Bilimora and Surat stations in Gujarat consists of nine full span girders, each 40 metre long. The height of pier on which these girders rests ranges from 10 to 20 metres and the circular piers are four to five metres in diameter.

While the girders horizontally support the bridge, the piers are vertical structures and more like pillars that provide foundational support. 

Earlier in February 2023, the first river bridge on the MAHSR project was completed. The 320-metre-long bridge has been built over Par River between Vapi and Bilimora stations in Valsad district of Gujarat.

Challenge

Among the most complex of the substructures being constructed on the high-speed corridor are the bridge structures over rivers.

“Laying piers on a river is complex. It involves complex geotechnical investigation. First, the well foundation has to be laid. Then piers will be put, over which the girders will be launched. Finally, the track will come on the girder,” said a senior official overseeing the construction of the bridge on the project.

For the bridge atop Purna river, foundation work was challenging as water levels in the river kept rising between five to six metres every fortnight due to high tides,” said National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the implementing agency for the bullet train project.

A total of 24 bridges will be constructed under this project as the bullet train will cross over rivers like Narmada, Sabarmati, Mahi, Par, Kaveri and Tapi among others. This includes 20 bridges in Gujarat and four in Maharashtra.

The Purna river bridge is the second of these bridges to be completed. The longest will be a 1.2-km-long bridge over the Narmada River in Bharuch city of Gujarat followed by Tapi and Mahi which will be around 720 metre.

India’s First Bullet Train Project

Presently, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail is the only sanctioned high-speed rail project 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).

It will cover 155.76 km in Maharashtra, 4.3 km in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 348.04 km in Gujarat, with 12 stations en-route.

The government is yet to determine a final deadline for the entire project, but the completion time for a 50-km stretch between Surat and Bilimora in Gujarat has been set for August 2026.