The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project has achieved another significant construction milestone with the successful lowering of the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) cutterhead at Vikhroli in Mumbai. The development was announced by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is overseeing India’s first high-speed rail corridor.
According to NHSRCL, the installation of the cutterhead marks the final phase in assembling the TBM’s primary shield system. The machine will be used to excavate a major portion of the underground corridor in Mumbai. Measuring 13.6 metres in diameter and weighing nearly 350 tonnes, the cutterhead is among the largest components deployed for railway tunnelling projects in the country.
Officials stated that two massive TBMs, each weighing over 3,000 tonnes, are currently being assembled for the construction of a 16-km segment of the project’s 21-km underground tunnel section in Mumbai. Notably, the alignment includes a 7-km undersea tunnel beneath Thane Creek, set to become India’s first undersea rail tunnel.
The TBMs are specially designed to create a single large tunnel that will accommodate both up and down high-speed rail tracks. NHSRCL said the cutterhead was transported to the site in five separate consignments and assembled using nearly 1,600 kg of precision welding.
Equipped with 84 cutter discs, 124 scrapers, and 16 bucket lips, the cutterhead is engineered for efficient excavation and removal of debris during tunnelling. The TBM is expected to excavate nearly 6 km from Vikhroli to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), passing beneath congested urban zones and the Mithi River.
To ensure safety during excavation, NHSRCL is deploying advanced monitoring systems, including settlement sensors, tilt meters, strain gauges, and seismographs. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor remains India’s first bullet train project, spanning extensive infrastructure development across Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Source: Prop News Time
