Construction of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor has achieved a new milestone with the completion of 100 km of viaducts and 250 km of pier work.

The viaducts include bridges over six rivers: Par (Valsad district), Purna (Navsari district), Mindhola (Navsari district), Ambika (Navsari district), Auranga (Valsad district) and Venganiya (Navsari district), all located in the state of Gujarat.

According to India’s National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), these viaducts were built using the full span and span-by-span launching methods. The full span launching method (FSLM) involves launching 40-m-long box girders with state-of-the-art equipment.  

NHSRCL said the FSLM method is 10 times faster than the span-by-span method, the latter of which is normally used for construction of metro viaducts. The first girder was launched in November 2021 and by April 2023, 50 km of viaducts were already completed.

Meanwhile, the laying of the first reinforced concrete (RC) track bed for the MAHSR track system as used in the Japanese Shinkansen has commenced in Surat district. This the first time that the J-slab ballastless track system is being implemented in India, revealed NHSRCL.

The MAHSR’s first mountain tunnel of 350 m long has been completed as well, located in Valsad district. In addition, the first steel bridge of 70 m long has been erected in Surat. NHSRCL said there will be a total of 28 steel bridges for the project.

When fully completed, the MAHSR corridor will be a game-changer for India, covering a 508 km distance between the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad

All images: NHSRCL