Gathering steam, the bullet train project has moved forward with firming up technical bids for corridor alignment and station building work amid the pandemic situation.
National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited has invited bids for design and construction of about 18 km of viaduct between Anand and Sabarmati including bullet train stations at Ahmedabad and Sabarmati for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor.
The alignment also has 31 crossing bridges including six steel truss bridges.
In the last few days, NHSRCL has opened three technical bids covering 64% (325 km out of 508 km) of the total high speed corridor alignment including five stations at Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch and Anand/Nadiad out of 12 stations.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail will traverse through Western Railway’s Ahmedabad Junction Railway Station and shall be integrated with the Saraspur side of the existing Ahmedabad station.
Ahmedabad high speed station will be built over the existing railway platform no 11 and 12.
To ensure seamless integration of the high speed railway station with other modes of rail transport, NHSRCL has designed a user-friendly station layout for Ahmedabad.
An integrated Building for passenger transit is planned on the east side of the existing railway station, where passengers will be able to swiftly switch from one mode to another. This building will be equipped with escalators and elevators and will house many passenger convenience facilities like a booking office, passenger lobby, tea/coffee kiosks and other amenities etc.
The integrated building shall provide connections to Western Railway existing foot over bridges to facilitate passenger movement to and from Indian Railways platforms and underground metro station on Saraspur side.
The construction of a high speed railway station over existing railway lines will be quite challenging. Along the railway tracks there are multiple utilities like platform sheds, offices, signalling and telecom cables, pipelines, electrical cables, tracks etc, which are being shifted before the commencement of the construction activities.
The functional offices of Ahmedabad railway station have already been relocated. Carrying out construction activities of HSR station alongside ongoing Ahmedabad Mega metro construction, moving man and machinery over existing railway lines without disrupting passenger and cargo traffic at Ahmedabad Railway Station will also be challenging.
Sabarmati HSR Station
Sabarmati being the terminal station of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor, NHSRCL has planned to develop it as a vibrant Multimodal Transport Hub in the region.
In order to achieve seamless integration of various transport modes around the HSR station, a multi-modal transit terminal has been planned on the East side of Sabarmati HSR station which shall ensure smooth traffic flow in the influence area of HSR station.
The Multi Modal Integration schemes focus on integration of existing and planned transit facilities in the station area. The available Right of Way (RoW) along the existing road network has been optimally utilized for planning the inflow/outflow of estimated traffic in horizon years.
A new Road Under Bridge (RUB) has already been constructed to provide direct entry to the proposed site of Sabarmati HSR station. This will facilitate station construction without interference with the existing railway network on a day to day basis.