Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train: Nearly 76 pc excavation work completed on Bandra Kurla Complex

MUMBAI:Approximately 76 per cent of the excavation work has been completed on the Mumbai bullet train station located at Bandra Kurla Complex, which is the only underground station on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor.

According to a release, 14.2 lakh cubic metres of the excavation work has been completed. 18.7 lakh cubic metres of earthwork must be excavated from this site.

Three batching plants of 120 cum/hr capacity are functional at site. Batching plants are provided with an ice plant and a chiller plant that help control concrete temperature.

The site is provided with a modern concrete lab, with facilities like a Water Permeability Test, a Rapid Chloride Penetration Test, etc. All concrete tests are conducted at the site, and samples are intermittently sent to a reputed lab.

Base Slab is being cast with M-60 grade of temperature-controlled concrete. Each base slab casting required 3,000 to 4,000 cubic metres of concrete at controlled temperatures, which is being produced by in-situ batching plants and chiller plants.

The platform is planned at a depth of about 26 metres below ground level. There will be three floors including platform, concourse and service floor. Excavation for the said work is being done till a depth of 32 metres (approx. 100 ft) from the ground level, which is equivalent to a 10-storey building.

The station will have six platforms, each approximately 415 m long (sufficient to accommodate a 16-coach bullet train). It will be connected to the metro and the road.

Two entry/exit points are planned, one to facilitate access to the nearby Metro station of Metro Line 2B, and the other towards the MTNL building.
The station has been planned in a way that ample space is available for passenger movement and amenities at the concourse and platform level.
A dedicated skylight provision has been made for natural lighting.

On April 22, the Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, thorugh a social media post, showed the progress of the Mumbai Bullet Train Station.
Taking to, X, Ashwini Vaishnaw wrote, “Mumbai’s Bullet Train Station is taking shape 100 feet below ground!”

Earlier, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis stated that the work on Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is likely to be completed by the end of 2028. He said that the delay in the project happened as the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government decided to halt it.

“The works for the bullet train could be completed by the end of 2028, as it was being carried out rapidly. The bullet train works were delayed for two and a half years due to the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, as they had made a decision to halt them. However, with the new government coming to power, we have approved permission for the bullet train. We hope to finish it within the new timeline,” Fadnavis said. (ANI)