From deep urban shafts to mountain tunnels and marine crossings, the Bullet Train project is progressing fast, with 80 per cent of excavation work completed at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) station in Mumbai, an official release said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.
Of the 21-km-long underground and undersea tunnel between BKC and Shilphata in Thane district, 16 km is being excavated using Tunnel Boring Machines and 5 km with the help of the New Austrian Tunnelling Method, said the National High-Speed Rail Corporation of India Limited (NHSRCL) in the release, reported PTI.
The NHSRCL, which is implementing the 508-km rail corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, said that base slab casting has already commenced at both ends of the BKC station site, at a depth of 100 feet below ground level.
About 80 per cent of the excavation work at the station has been completed, it said.
Base slab casting has been completed at Vikhroli (56 metres deep) and Sawli shaft (39 metres deep). These shafts are essential for launching tunnel boring machines and facilitating underground work, the release said, reported PTI.
Work on the Thane, Virar, and Boisar elevated stations in Maharashtra is progressing at an accelerated pace, it said, adding that pier work is being executed at multiple locations, with approximately 44 kilometres of piers cast so far.
In the Palghar district, excavation of seven mountain tunnels is underway, and construction has commenced on bridges across Vaitarna, Ulhas, and Jagani rivers, NHSRCL said, reported PTI.
The total cost of the project is pegged at Rs 1.08 lakh crore, and as per the shareholding pattern, the Government of India is to pay Rs 10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, while the two states involved, Gujarat and Maharashtra, are to pay Rs 5,000 crore each.
The rest is to be paid by Japan through a loan at 0.1 per cent interest.
(With inputs from PTI)
