The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) on Wednesday gave a big update on the ongoing Bullet train project, also known as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. The firm said a 100-metre-long steel girder has been successfully launched over four railway tracks in Gujarat.
What is a steel girder?
This infrastructure work involved laying the metal framework over two tracks of Western Railways, as many of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) between Kim and Sayan villages in Surat district, said NHSRCL in a release.
The 100-metre-long steel structure, which is 14.3 metres wide and weighs 1,432 metric tonnes, was fabricated at a workshop in Bhuj and transported to the site by road for installation.
Leveraging Japanese expertise, India is increasingly utilising its own technical and material resources to build infrastructure under the “Make in India” initiative and the steel bridges for the bullet train project are a major example of this effort, it added.
17 steel bridge to be built in Gujarat
This is the sixth steel bridge launched out of the 17 such structures planned in the Gujarat portion of the 508-km-long corridor. Another 60-metre-long steel span will be erected over an irrigation canal adjacent to the tracks at the construction site, the release said.
Vaishnaw inspects undersea tunnel work
Recently on January 18, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inspected the work of the undersea tunnel of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor, popularly called the bullet train project, and expressed satisfaction at the "good progress" on the mega multi-billion dollar project.
The 21-kilometre tunnel, which includes a 7 kilometre stretch beneath the Thane Creek, will connect the Bandra Kurla Complex station to Shilphata. The undersea tunnel is the first of its kind in the country.
The undersea tunnel has been designed and is being constructed with great care, Vaishnaw told reporters at the site in Ghansoli in neighbouring Navi Mumbai.
"The technology being employed and the design of the tunnel makes it possible for two trains to pass through at speeds of 250 kilometres per hour. Environment protection has been taken care of along with ventilation and lighting. The construction on 340 kilometres of the project has made good progress," the Union minister said.
Trains can pass at much higher speeds in the undersea tunnel than Kolkata Metro's under-river tunnel, he told reporters.
Time not far for first bullet train to run in India, says PM Modi
In the first week of January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that the time when the first bullet train will run in India is not far. PM Modi underlined the "rising" demand for high-speed trains from across the country and the sector's "historic transformation" under his government.
People increasingly want to spend less time covering long distances, leading to a rise in the demand for high-speed trains, the prime minister said.
(With PTI inputs)