MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): Following the Supreme Court’s approval of the bullet train project of Mumbai-Ahmedabad, the National High-Speed Rail Corridor Limited (NHSRCL) is set to initiate preliminary activities on the Vikhroli land. The upcoming tasks include clearing a 3.92-hectare area in Vikhroli, erecting barricades around the boundaries, and commencing drilling on a 21-km tunnel linking Bandra Kurla Complex and Thane. The tunnel is expected to cost around ₹10,000 crore. According to reports, the tunnel’s depth will range from 25 meters to 65 meters, and it will reach a depth of 45 meters below Thane creek, spanning a distance of 7 kilometres. The most profound point of the tunnel will be beneath Parsik Hill, plunging to a depth of 114 meters.
An official stated that the NHSRCL would create shafts in BKC, Vikhroli, and Sawli in Ghansoli for the tunnel’s excavation, which will be carried out from both ends. The approximate cost per kilometre for the tunnel is estimated to be ₹500 crore. As of February 23, NHSRCL has acquired 99.75% of the land in Maharashtra, and the total land procured for the 508-kilometre-long corridor is 99.17%. Earlier this month, the NHSRCL released technical tenders for tunnelling, and by March 29, authorities plan to open tenders for civil works that include viaducts, bridges, tunnels, maintenance depots at Thane, Virar, and Boisar, and connecting works for the Thane depot between Shilphata and Zaroli on the Gujarat-Maharashtra border, according to officials.
