Semi-high-speed rail corridor on Mum-Ahm route nears completion
MUMBAI: With 95% of the work on it completed, the semi-high-speed rail corridor on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route is almost done. Once complete, trains such as Vande Bharat, Rajdhani and Shatabdi can run at 160 kmph, bringing down travel time substantially. The rail corridor is part of Western Railway's (WR) 92 priority projects, which are collectively worth over ₹9,862 crore and is the most expensive one at ₹8,095 crore.
According to WR officials, the minimum necessary work on upgrading rail tracks, installing metal beam fencing and ballast cushioning to the desired level for trains to run at 160kmph is complete. WR has completed vital engineering works, which include strengthening 120-plus bridge approaches, rehabilitation of 138 bridges, and straightening of 134 curvatures along the route. It has also installed safety barriers along 792 km to prevent people and cattle from trespassing.
'We are presently taking up further upgradation to smoothen the train ride, for which steps have been recommended,' said a WR official. 'Work on installing Kavach is also underway. We expect the rail line to be ready by December this year.'
Some of the ongoing improvement works include increasing the ballast level to 350 mm from 300 mm for better cushioning and safety. The steel sleepers under the tracks and foot over bridges will be enhanced, besides which other measures such as augmenting power supply by 2x25,000 volt lines are on the anvil.
'We will also provide space on the sides of the rail lines for constructing passages to erect poles and other paraphernalia required for the high-powered cables,' said the official. The total cost of upping the power supply is expected to be around ₹60 crore. At present, the trains are powered with 25,000 volts.
Once the rail authorities achieve train operations at 160 kmph, passengers can expect to save around 45 to 60 minutes from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, a journey that now takes around five and a half hours. This will be among the first routes from Mumbai where Vande Bharat trains will operate as semi high-speed trains. There are 50-odd trains connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad, including Vande Bharat, Tejas and Shatabdi. 'We will revise the timetable of long-distance trains once the upgrade to 160 kmph happens,' said another WR official.
At present, long-distance trains run at 100 kmph on the Mumbai Central-Borivali stretch and at 110 kmph on the Borivali-Virar route. The 1,479-km Delhi-Mumbai and the 1,525-km Delhi-Howrah sections are key stretches where the railways are trying to bring down travel time. Within the 1,379-km Mumbai-Delhi route, nearly 50% of it, from Mumbai Central to Nagda, falls under Western Railway. The remaining km are divided between West Central Railways and Northern Railway.
Apart from this, WR is also carrying out work worth 1,700 crore to augment facilities. These include developing new terminuses at Jogeshwari and Vasai, adding pit lines for maintenance at Bandra Terminus and Mumbai Central Terminus, yard remodelling at Andheri and improving the signalling systems outside Mumbai.
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