National High speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has achieved a major milestone with the breakthrough of the mountain tunnel for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor project.
More Details:
This is the first mountain tunnel which has been completed in a short span of 10 months. The tunnel is located at around 1 Km away from Zaroli Village of Umbergaon Taluka in Valsad district of Gujarat. The tunnel structure comprises tunnel, tunnel portal and other connecting structures like tunnel entrance hood.
The tunnel is being constructed by New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) which includes the following procedure:
- Marking of drill holes on the tunnel face
- Drilling of holes
- Charging of explosives
- Controlled Blasting
- Removal of muck (blasted rock pieces)
- Installation of primary support which includes steel ribs, lattice girder, shotcrete, rock bolts based on the type of rocks as assessed by geologist after each blast
Salient features of the mountain tunnel:
- Total Tunnel Length: 350 m
- Diameter of Tunnel: 12.6 m
- Height of Tunnel: 10.25 m
- Tunnel Shape: Single tube horse-shoe shaped
- Number of tracks: 2 Tracks
Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor will have seven mountain tunnels, which will be constructed using the NATM Method.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail:
Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project is 508 Km long first High-Speed Rail (HSR) network planned to be constructed in India. Out of 508Km, 352 Km lies in the State of Gujarat (348 Km) and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (4Km) and the balance 156 Km lies in the State of Maharashtra.
The Construction Work is in progress in both Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli where 98% and 100% land has been acquired respectively. In Gujarat, High Speed Rail alignment passes through eight districts i.e. Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda and Ahmedabad and work is in progress in all the eight districts. In Maharashtra land acquisition done so far is 40%.
The project will entail an investment of 72,000 Crs in the state of Gujarat in both Land & construction. So far an expenditure of 14,200 Crs has been done. The project will generate direct & indirect employment of 60,000 in Gujarat state.
Source: NHSRCL- Press Release | Images Credit: NHSRCL
