NHSRCL opens tender for 21-km tunnel between BKC and Thane

The tunnel – which includes a 7-kilometre stretch under the Thane creek – is estimated to cost around ₹10,000 crore.

Mumbai: With 39,570 square metres of land now available for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project at Vikhroli, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) on Thursday opened tenders for the 21-kilometre tunnel between Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Thane.

On Thursday, NHSRCL officials said that they received bids from two companies – Larsen and Toubro and Afcons – for the construction of the single-tube tunnel, which will have a diameter of 13 metres. The development comes after the Bombay high court dismissed a petition filed by Godrej, which challenged the acquisition of their land in Vikhroli for the project. (HT PHOTO)

The tunnel – which includes a 7-kilometre stretch under the Thane creek – is estimated to cost around ₹10,000 crore. The NHSRCL has now obtained 99% of land in Maharashtra for the high-speed rail corridor.

On Thursday, NHSRCL officials said that they received bids from two companies – Larsen and Toubro and Afcons – for the construction of the single-tube tunnel, which will have a diameter of 13 metres.

The development comes after the Bombay high court dismissed a petition filed by Godrej, which challenged the acquisition of their land in Vikhroli for the project.

“The depth of the tunnel will vary from 25 metres to 65 metres. It will go around 45 metres below Thane Creek. The deepest will be below Parsik Hill at 114 metres. We will be tunnelling from both ends for which shafts will be constructed at BKC, Vikhroli and Sawli for digging the tunnel,” said an official from NHSRCL.

The approximate cost per kilometre of the tunnel is around ₹500 crore. The project would require at least three boring machines.

At BKC, there will be the only underground station in the 508-kilometre route, which will have 6 platforms with a length of 415 metres each that can accommodate 16-coach bullet trains. It will have a depth of 25 metres and will also connect to Metro 2B.

The authorities also showcased the designs of Virar, BKC and Thane stations. At Virar, the station is likely to be near the hill and so it will depict the winds from the mountain. Thane station will be near Ulhas river, so, the roof will form waves. While BKC will be designed to depict clouds and waves of the Arabian Sea.