Mumbai : The work on the 394-metre additional central tunnel at Ghansoli has been completed for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) said the 21-km long tunnel between Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata has been facilitated and the work on the tunnel will be expedited.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train is 508 km long, the most important part of which is the 21-km long Bandra-Kurla Complex to Shilphata tunnel. Also, of the 21 km tunnel, the 7 km stretch in Thane creek will be the first undersea tunnel in the country. The initial station, Bandra-Kurla Complex, will be built underground. Both Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and New Austrian Tunnelling Method will be used to dig the 21 km tunnel from Bandra-Kurla Complex to Shilphata.
Three tunnel boring machines will be used for 16 km of the tunnel and the New Austrian Tunneling Method will be used for the remaining 5 km. The tunnel will be 25 to 65 metres deep. The deepest part of the tunnel will be 114 metres below the Parsik mountain near Shilphata, the NHSRCL said.
The additional central tunnel, which is about 26 metres deep from the ground, will facilitate the digging of the 3.3 -km tunnel using the New Austrian Tunnelling method. There will also be simultaneous access to the 1.6 -metre tunnel on both sides.
The work on the additional central tunnel at Ghansoli was started on 6 December 2023. The 394-metre long tunnel has been completed. A total of 214 controlled explosions were carried out using 27,515 kg of explosives under the supervision of experts. Also used high-quality equipment for safe digging.