The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project has completed a major construction milestone in Maharashtra with the erection of a 100-metre steel bridge weighing 1,405 metric tonnes near Dive-Anjur village in Bhiwandi, Thane district. The bridge has been built across the Mumbai-Nashik Highway as part of the project’s Maharashtra section.
The structure is the first steel bridge completed in Maharashtra for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor, according to the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is executing the project. Construction work for the Maharashtra portion is currently under way at multiple locations across Thane district.
The bridge was fabricated at a workshop in Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu, around 1,300 kilometres from the construction site. The completed steel components were transported to Bhiwandi on trailers and assembled at the site. The process involved joining the structure according to its design specifications and prescribed technical standards, followed by protective painting.
At the construction location, the 100-metre structure was assembled approximately 17.5 metres above ground on temporary trestles. NHSRCL said the work used 22 skid arrangements and 54,076 high-strength torque-shear bolts. These components enabled the steel sections to be positioned and joined before the bridge was prepared for its intended use within the high-speed rail corridor.
The construction process also included testing and durability measures. NHSRCL said every production batch of steel used for the bridge underwent ultrasonic testing. The structure has been provided with a protective paint system and elastomeric bearings, which are intended to support durability and help control vibration.
The bridge’s construction highlights the logistical scale of the bullet train project, in which large structural components are manufactured away from the final construction site and then transported for assembly. In this case, fabrication in Tiruchi and installation in Bhiwandi required coordination between the workshop, transport operators and the site construction team.
The location near the Mumbai-Nashik Highway also adds an operational challenge because the structure had to be assembled above an existing road corridor. The use of temporary trestles, skidding arrangements and high-strength bolting allowed the bridge to be joined at elevation, while maintaining the construction sequence specified for the project.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is India’s first high-speed rail project. Its Maharashtra works include construction across parts of Thane district, where viaducts, bridges and related structures are being developed for the corridor. NHSRCL’s next stages at the Bhiwandi site will involve progressing the associated construction work in line with the project’s approved technical design and execution schedule.
