New Delhi: As the work on Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project ramps up, a 100-metre long ‘Make in India’ steel bridge has been erected over four railway tracks in Surat district of Gujarat.
The bridge has been constructed by National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) over four railway tracks-two Western Railway tracks and two Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC)- between Kim and Sayan.
Bridge fabricated in Bhuj
This bridge has two spans—100 metres and 60 metres-that will facilitate a dual-line standard gauge railway track. The construction of the infrastructure involves crossing four major tracks—two of Western Railway and two of DFCCIL—along with an irrigation canal. While the 60-meter span will be constructed over an irrigation canal near the track at the construction site.
The 100-metre span was launched between January 28, 2025, and February 5, 2025, over the Western Railway and DFC tracks.
The 100-metre-long and 14.3 metre wide steel bridge weighs 1,432 metric tons. The bridge was fabricated at a workshop in Gujarat’s Bhuj and transported to the site via road.
Six of the planned 17 bridges installed
The assembly of 100-metre bridge span involved around 60,000 torque-shear type high-strength bolts with an expected lifespan of 100 years. The two spans of the bridge have been painted with C5 system and they will be placed on elastomeric bearings.
To launch the bridge, the traffic was partially blocked to ensure the safety of the commuters and to minimise disruptions to regular train and other services.
A ‘Make in India’ initiative
This is the sixth steel bridge out of the 17 planned in the Gujarat section of the stretch. Five steel bridges of lengths of 70 metres (Surat), 100 metres (Anand), 230 metres (Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway), 100 metres (Silvassa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli), and 60 metres (Vadodara) have already been completed.
Utilising Japanese technology and expertise, India is increasingly making use of its own technical and material resources to build infrastructure under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
