1,405-Tonne Steel Bridge Installed in Maharashtra for Bullet Train Project

In a significant milestone for India's bullet train project, the first steel bridge for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor has been installed in Maharashtra, officials said on Tuesday.

The 100-metre-long bridge, weighing 1,405 metric tonnes, was launched over National Highway-3 at Dive-Anjur village in the Bhiwandi area of Thane district on Monday.

The structure, 14 metres high and 14 metres wide, was fabricated at a specialised workshop in Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu, and transported more than 1,300 km on heavy trailers before being assembled at the site.

The installation was an engineering feat, involving the movement and positioning of the massive structure over a busy national highway. An automated system pulled the completed bridge into place during scheduled night-time traffic blocks, helping minimise disruption to commuters.

The bridge also incorporates a protective painting system and elastomeric bearings designed to enhance durability and manage vibrations.

With this installation, 16 of the 28 steel bridges planned along the entire bullet train corridor have been completed, marking further progress in the construction of India's first dedicated high-speed rail project.

The work also demonstrates India's indigenous engineering and manufacturing capabilities under the Make in India initiative, with the bridge fabricated domestically and transported across states for installation.

The 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor, connecting Mumbai with Ahmedabad, is a major infrastructure project aimed at providing faster inter-city connectivity and substantially reducing travel time between the two cities.

The latest bridge installation adds to the project's visible construction progress and represents an important step in developing the large-scale infrastructure required for India's high-speed rail network.