The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is executing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, has erected the first full span pre-stressed concrete box girder of 40 metres span for the high-speed rail corridor in Navsari on Thursday.
The girder, weighing about 970 tonnes, involving 390 cubic metres of concrete and 42 tonnes of steel, was cast in a single piece, i.e. without any construction joint earlier this month. It is the heaviest such box girder in the construction industry in India.
The girder was erected in the presence of NHSCRL MD Satish Agnihotri, Minister (Economic & Development) in Japan’s embassy in India Miyamoto Shingo, and others.
The precast girder was picked up from the stacking yard by the Straddle carrier and moved to the predefined location from where it was lifted by the Bridge gantry for erection. The girder was placed at a height of 13.4 metres from the ground level.
NHSRCL said it has adopted a full span launching method to expedite the construction of viaduct for the bullet train project. Moreover, the construction of substructure and superstructure has also been taken up alongside.
Twenty-three casting yards are being developed along the alignment for the casting of full span girders of 30, 35 & 40 metres. Each yard is spread over 16-93 acres and is located near the project alignment.
The 508-km bullet train project is expected to reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to three hours. Out of 508 km, 348 km lies in Gujarat, 4 km in Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and 156 km in Maharashtra. Civil contacts of 343 km have been awarded out of 352 km.