National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has achieved a physical progress of about 80 per cent on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (HSR) Corridor Project in Maharashtra, Gujarat. Besides, a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) has commenced tunnelling from Vikhroli towards Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) Bullet train station under the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor Project.
The TBM launched from Vikhroli will excavate a 6 km long single-tube tunnel designed to accommodate both up and down tracks of the bullet train. It is a Mixshield TBM, featuring a cutterhead with a diameter of 13.6 metres, weighs 3,100 tonnes, and has a total length of 96 metres.
Additionally, a 56-metre-deep shaft has been constructed at Vikhroli in Mumbai to enable the launch of TBM.
The 21 km underground tunnel section comprises a 16 km stretch between Sawli (Ghansoli) and BKC, which will be constructed using TBMs. The balance 5 km section has already been completed using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM).
Under phase-I, the Surat-Billimora section will commence operations by 2027. Services will then be extended in phases to Vapi, Ahmedabad, and ultimately Mumbai.
The project involves development of the 508.17 km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR corridor in tMaharashtra and Gujarat with an investment of Rs 1,080 billion. It is being implemented by a special purpose vehicle (SPV), named National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), incorporated by the Ministry of Railways (MoR) and the respective state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat with an equity stake of 50:25:25 respectively. The project is the first corridor to be explored for the railway’s ambitious bullet train project and also includes a 21 km long sub-sea tunnel from Mumbai to Thane.