RVNL invites tender for various works including construction of bridges, tunnels, ballastless track & electrical works for Yavatmal-Nanded New BG Line

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has invited bids for Construction of road bed, major bridges, minor bridges, ROBs, RUBs, including road approaches, station buildings, staff quarters, other service buildings, HL platforms, COPs, FOBs, general electrical work and other works related to construction of Yavatmal-Nanded New BG Line from Km: 157 to Km: 183 of Central Railway in Maharashtra state including construction of two tunnels: T1 (1250m) & T2 (2700 m) with BLT in tunnels.

• Tender Reference Number: RVNL-NGP-YTL-NED-Pkg-IIIA
• Name of Work: Construction of road bed, major bridges, minor bridges, ROBs, RUBs, including road approaches, station buildings, staff quarters, other service buildings, HL platforms, COPs, FOBs, general electrical work and other works related to construction of Yavatmal-Nanded New BG Line from Km: 157 to Km: 183 of Central Railway in Maharashtra state including construction of two tunnels: T1 (1250m) & T2 (2700 m) with BLT in tunnels.
• Estimated Cost: INR 827.53 Crore
• EMD: INR 02 Crore
• Period Of Work: 36 Months
• Document Download / Sale Start Date: 31st May, 2023
• Document Download / Sale End Date: 17th July, 2023
• Pre-Bid Conference Date: 15th June, 2023
• Bid Submission Start Date: 11th July, 2023
• Bid Submission End Date: 17th July, 2023
• Bid Opening Date: 17th July, 2023

General Information:

• Yavatmal to Nanded consists of Packages IIIA, IIIB, IV & V from chainage Km 157 to Km 286. This work is related to the new BG Line from Km 157 to Km 183, Package IIIA. The package IIIA of Yavatmal to Nanded consists of construction of a new BG Line from Chainage 157 to Km 183.
• The work includes Construction of Roadbed, Major bridges, Minor bridges, ROBs, RUBs including road approaches, station buildings, staff quarters, other service buildings, HLPFs, COP/FOBs, General Electrical and other works related to construction of Yavatmal-Nanded BG line from Km 157 to Km 183 of Central Railway in Maharashtra State including construction of two tunnels: T1 & T2 with Ballast Less Track in tunnels.
• However, these chainages are for guidance purposes. Any change in the specified chainage as below shall not lead to any claim whatsoever on account thereof towards change of scope of work. Same terms and conditions shall be applicable on such changes, if any.
• Wherever Tunnel works are referred to in the document, it means “main tunnel no.1 & tunnel no.2 and adits, portals, niches and associated tunnel works”. The chainage of tunnels shown in following paragraphs are indicative which may vary as per site requirement and detailed design without any claim on such account.
• The new railway line stretching between Wardha and Nanded via Yavatmal was a long  pending demand of the public. It is considered as one of the most important projects in Maharashtra as it will connect the two most backward districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada and has the potential to transform the economy of both the regions.
• The monsoon normally occurs between June to September. The physiography of the area is mostly hilly. Successful planning, design, construction, and maintenance of a tunnel requires various geotechnical investigations to obtain a broad spectrum of pertinent topographic,  geologic, geo-hydrological and structural information and data.
• Subsurface investigation is the most important type of investigation to obtain ground  conditions. Hence, geological, and geotechnical studies have been carried out near the  tunnel locations.

Land:

• The land for the entire alignment including tunnel and bridge locations falls in the state of Maharashtra. This land consists of private land and forest land. More than 90% of the Land acquisition is done.
• As regard the forest land in Maharashtra, the In-Principle approval under Forest Conservation Act has been accorded by Government of India.

Scope of Works:

Tunnel Works:

• The tunnels are designed to be constructed according to the New Austrian Tunnelling  Method (NATM). This document defines the technical and quality standards specifically for  NATM construction works and open excavations.
• The construction works shall be executed according to the quality requirements defined in  the Specification. Any item of work arising from the execution of the works, not covered by  the Technical Specification, shall be executed according to the Standards advised by the Engineer-in-Charge and the Contractor.
• The technical specifications are basically based on IS 17446: 2020 and IS 15026 (Part 1): 2022.

Electrification:

• Power Line crossing modification will be required to meet IRSOD stipulations with the latest A&C’s LT modification.
• Work also involves electrification of service buildings, platforms, platform shelters, FOBs, level crossing gates, goods yard, residential buildings and other installations. Alterations to the existing service connections; where necessary.

Other Activities:

• Providing and maintaining office accommodation, equipment and vehicles for the use of the Employer and their Assistants and Staff during the contract and defect liability periods.
• Setting out the line and level of alignment for the proposed doubling/third line and establishing working benchmarks and alignment references, taking the details from benchmarks and alignment references established by the Employer/ other designated contractors.
• For carrying out accurate survey work, survey control points shall be established along the railway line using high end survey equipment such as DGPS or Total Station connected with the nearest GTS Benchmark.
• Also reference pillars are to be established for relocation. This work is meant for maintaining & checking proper alignment of midsection & bridges for  which the contractor is solely responsible.
• Every precaution has to be taken such that there shall be least disturbance to road traffic during transportation of construction materials to the site of work. Making and supply of ‘As Built’ drawings for the new assets created.

Construction of Tunnels:

• Primarily, the work involves construction of tunnels. There are two main tunnels between the package IIIA which is Km 157 to Km 183. The length of each tunnel as given above is based on the alignment finalised during Final Location Survey.
• The chainages of tunnels are tentative and are for guidance only. These are subject to change based on Final Design and field requirements.
• No claim whatsoever shall be entertained on account of change in chainages of these tunnels. Bids for construction of tunnels are invited through this “Construct only” contract.

Construction of Bridges, Access Road and Roadbed:

• The work involves construction of bridges between chainage Km 157 to Km 183 as stated previously is in the scope of work. The roadbed works including slope protection, minor bridges, drainage, retaining structures etc. complete along with tunnels to be done through this contract.
• Geological features including Geological Plan and L-sections of the tunnels are given in Annexure –8 of this section. Detailed Geotechnical investigations carried out so far and details of bore log/borehole locations are given in Annexure- 9 of this section. The alignment drawings of Tunnels are given in Annexure- 8 of this section.
• The superstructure of one of them is a composite girder structure of span 18m. The conceptual span arrangements of Bridge in this proposed work have been mentioned above.
• However, this may vary as per Final design requirements and no claim on account of such changes shall be admissible.

Construction of Ballastless Track:

• The work involves construction of ballast less tracks in the tunnels, as per the approved designs for 25 tonne loading standards. The specifications of the ballastless track is detailed in sub-section 5.3.

Construction of Major/ Minor Bridges, ROBs, RUBs, Access Roads and Roadbed:

• The work also involves construction of Major/ Minor Bridges between the chainages mentioned in the scope of work. There are 7 major bridges, 15 minor bridges, 1 aqueduct, 5 ROBs and 10 RUBs between Km 157 to Km 183 of the alignment.
• The roadbed works including slope protection, minor bridges drainage, retaining structures etc. is also included in this contract. The construction/ modification to access/ approach roads to portals/ dumping locations shall also be in the scope of work. The Approach Roads of Total Length approximately 4 Km & Dumping Yards 4 (tentative).

Construction of Station Buildings, Service Buildings, Staff Quarters:

• The stations between chainage Km 157 to Km 183 are to be developed as per approved station plan which shall include roadbed, formation work including blanketing, drainage, slope protection etc. The land for the proposed station has been acquired.

Ballastless Track Structure:

• Track shall be laid on cast in situ/precast reinforced plinth or slab or sleepers, hereinafter referred to as the ‘track slab’ for all purposes. The track slab shall be designed as plinth beam or slab type ballastless track structure with derailment guards.
• Similar arrangement should be in case sleepers or any other arrangement is used. It shall accommodate the base plates of the fastening system. The minimum depth of concrete below the plates should be decided based upon characteristics of underlying base and the design of fastening system in general, track slab/sleepers on which the fastening and rails are to be fitted shall:
  • Resist the track forces
  • Provide a level base for uniform transmission of rail forces
  • Have geometrical accuracy and enable installation of track to the tolerances laid down
  • Ensure drainage
  • Resist weathering
  • Be construction friendly, maintainable and quickly repairable in the event of derailment. The ‘Repair and maintenance methods’ shall be detailed in a manual to be prepared and made available.
  • Ensure provision for electrical continuity between consecutive plinth/slab/sleepers by an appropriate design.

Eligibility:

Average Annual Construction Turnover:

• Minimum average annual construction turnover in equivalent INR 551.69 Crore Calculated as total certified payments received for contracts in progress or completed, within the last  three financial years (refer note below the table)

Net –Worth:

• Minimum average Net-Worth (Total Assets – Total Liabilities) should not be less than INR 165.51 Crores during the last three financial years.

Contracts of Similar Size and Nature:

• Execution as contractor, or subcontractor, at least one contract with a value of at least INR 331.01 Cr. that has been successfully or is substantially completed within the last ten years before the deadline for submission of the bids, and that is similar to the proposed work. The similar work here shall be that which includes key activities mentioned below:
  • Execution of excavation of Rail/ Road/ Metro/ Hydro Tunnel having finished cross sectional area of minimum 24 sqm through single tunnel of minimum 1.298 km length or through two tunnels of minimum cumulative length of 1.946 km by Drill & Blast method/ NATM. (Tunnels constructed with TBM and Cut & Cover shall not be considered), or
  • Execution as contractor, or subcontractor, at least two contracts, each with a value of at least INR 206.88 Cr that has been successfully or is substantially completed within the last ten years before the deadline for submission of the bids, and that is similar to the proposed work.
• Each contract should have at least similar work which includes key activities mentioned below:
  • Execution of excavation of Rail/ Road/ Metro/ Hydro Tunnel having finished cross sectional area of minimum 24 sqm through single tunnel of minimum 0.649 km length or through two tunnels of minimum cumulative length of 0.973 km by Drill & Blast method/NATM. (Tunnels  constructed with TBM and Cut & Cover shall not be considered).

Tender documents can be downloaded from website https://rvnl.org/active-tenders-new

Source: RVNL- Tender | Image Credit (representational): MoR