AHMEDABAD (Metro Rail News): The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project has reached a significant construction milestone with the successful installation of all 13 heavy portal beams in Ahmedabad. The last and heaviest beam was placed at Sabarmati, finishing a crucial part of the viaduct construction over existing railway lines.
According to the NHSRCL Press Release, The project team completed the launch of the final portal beam on Friday. This beam weighs about 1,640 metric tonnes, making it the heaviest precast concrete portal beam among all 13 installed in Ahmedabad. The 18-km-long bullet train viaduct in Ahmedabad crosses some of the city’s busiest railway routes at an elevated level. Engineers designed and installed these portal beams to safely support the high-speed rail viaduct over the existing railway tracks.
13 portals beams installed at key locations
NHSRCL has launched a total of 13 heavy portal beams at different sites in Ahmedabad:
The weekly brief metro & rail professionals read.
- Five portal beams over the Mumbai, Ahmedabad main railway line at Maninagar
- Seven portal beams over the Mumbai, Ahmedabad main railway line at Vatva
- One portal beam over the Ahmedabad, Delhi main railway line at Sabarmati
After the installation of this beam at Sabarmati, all planned heavy portal beam launches in Ahmedabad are now complete.
Heaviest beam installed in 3 hours
The final portal beam measures 34.5 metres in length and has a cross-section of 5.5 metres × 4.5 metres. It is one of the largest precast portal beams used in the project. The construction team completed the entire launching operation in around three hours. To lift and place the beam, engineers used a 2,200-metric-tonne crawler crane. They carried out the operation in a restricted work area while following strict safety measures. The team also worked closely with Indian Railways to ensure train services continued safely during the lifting process.
Portal Beam Dimensions at a glance
| Ahmedabad Section | |||
| Sr no. | Portal Beam | Dimension (m) | Weight (MT) |
| 1 | 497-P05 | 34 x 5.5 x 4.5 | 1352 |
| 2 | 497-P06 | 33 x 5.5 x 4.5 | 1360 |
| 3 | 497-P07 | 30 x 5.5 x 4.5 | 1329 |
| 4 | 497-P08 | 30 x 5.5 x 4.5 | 1342 |
| 5 | 497-P09 | 30 x 5.5 x 4.5 | 1322 |
| Vatva Section | |||
| 1 | 489-P14 | 17 x 5.5 x 3.2 | 555 |
| 2 | 489-P15 | 17 x 5.5 x 3.2 | 564 |
| 3 | 489-P16 | 17 x 5.5 x 3.2 | 558 |
| 4 | 490-P11 | 17 x 5.5 x 3.2 | 557 |
| 5 | 490-P12 | 17 x 5.5 x 3.2 | 564 |
| 6 | 490-P13 | 17 x 5.5 x 3.2 | 571 |
| 7 | 490-P14 | 18.15 x 5.5 x 3.2 | 574 |
| Sabarmati Section | |||
| 1 | 506P6 | 34.5 x 5.5 x 4.5 | 1640 |