Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train work records first major breakthrough: 2.7 km tunnel completed
The first breakthrough in the 21 km long tunnel was recorded on Wednesday, an NHSRCL release informed.
With this, a 2.7 kilometre continuous tunnel section has been successfully completed using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), the release added.
This achievement marks a significant leap forward in India's first bullet train project, aimed at connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad with a high-speed rail corridor, drastically reducing travel time and enhancing transport efficiency between the two financial hubs, it said.
"The 21-kilometre tunnel will be a key part of the high-speed rail corridor, with 16 km being constructed using Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), and the remaining 5 km through the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), especially between Shilphata and Ghansoli. Significantly, the tunnel also features a 7 km undersea section beneath Thane Creek," it said.
"To expedite tunnelling in the NATM portion, an Additionally Driven Intermediate Tunnel (ADIT) was constructed, which enabled simultaneous excavation from both Ghansoli and Shilphata ends. Of the total NATM section, approximately 1.62 km has been excavated from the Shilphata side, and the cumulative progress stands at 4.3 km," the release informed.
Comprehensive safety measures have been implemented at the site, including installation of ground settlement markers, piezometers, inclinometers, strain gauges, and biometric access control systems, the NHSRCL said.
These are designed to ensure safe and controlled tunnelling operations without impacting nearby infrastructure or habitats, it added.
Sources, however, said TBMs are yet to be received from companies for the construction of the 16-km-long tunnel, though shafts and other equipment to launch these machines are in place. The total cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor project is pegged at ₹1.08 lakh crore.
As per the shareholding pattern, the Union government is to pay ₹10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, while Gujarat and Maharashtra are to pay ₹5,000 crore each.
The rest is to be paid by Japan through a loan at 0.1 per cent interest.
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