Bullet Train: Indigenous Equipment Launched To Expedite Construction Of High-Speed Rail

Mumbai Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project: L&T designed the equipment for the viaduct

A full span launching equipment, including a straddle carrier and girder transporter, was flagged off today to expedite the construction of a viaduct on the upcoming high-speed bullet train corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the equipment for the country’s first bullet train corridor through video conferencing on Thursday, September 9.

The launching equipment of 1,100 MT capacity is indigenously designed and manufactured by infrastructure conglomerate M/s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at Kanchipuram, Chennai, according to a statement released by the Railway Ministry today.  A total of 20 such launching equipments will be required for the construction of 325 km of viaduct superstructures between Vapi and Ahmedabad in Gujarat.  

Full Span Launching Equipment to expedite construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project flagged off.
It is Indigenously designed and manufactured.
https://t.co/fGOQCo4xxzpic.twitter.com/gcEdaX98B7

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) September 9, 2021

The equipment will expedite the construction of the high-speed railway, as the technology has been utilised earlier in metro and similar infrastructure mobility projects. The work has already begun on the 325 km route (in Gujarat) out of the total 508 km corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

More than 97 per cent of land has been acquired for the bullet train project in Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 30 per cent in Maharashtra, according to the government.

For the construction of viaduct superstructures for the high-speed bullet train corridor, state-of-the-art construction methods such as full span launching methodology will be adopted. This will expedite the process of launching girders as the precast girders of full span length will be erected as a single piece for double-track viaduct.

The full span launching methodology is used across the world as it is faster than the segment by segment launching method, usually adopted for the construction of viaducts for the metro systems. 

India is now among the select group of countries such as Korea, Italy, Norway, and China which have been designing and manufacturing such equipment for infrastructure projects.