First Full-Span Girder Launched in Maharashtra for Bullet Train
24 Jun 2025 CW Team
The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has launched the first full-span Pre-Stressed Concrete (PSC) box girder in Maharashtra for the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train corridor. The launch, held at Sakhare Village in Dahanu, represents a significant milestone in the high-speed rail project's construction.
The 40-metre-long girder weighs around 970 metric tonnes, making it the heaviest of its kind in India’s construction industry, according to NHSRCL. Cast as a single monolithic unit using 390 cubic metres of concrete and 42 metric tonnes of steel, the girder contains no construction joints, enhancing durability and performance.
Full-span girders are being used to accelerate project delivery, enabling construction progress up to ten times faster than with segmental techniques. These girders are launched using advanced indigenous machinery, including straddle carriers, launching gantries, and girder transporters.
To maintain efficiency, casting is carried out in advance at dedicated yards, where girders are stored for timely deployment. Thirteen such casting yards are planned along the Shilphata–Gujarat border stretch, with five currently operational. Since first adopting this method in April 2021, NHSRCL has completed 307 kilometres of viaduct in Gujarat.
The Maharashtra segment of the Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor spans 156 kilometres and includes major infrastructure elements: an underground station at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), a 21-kilometre tunnel from BKC to Shilphata in Thane, and 135 kilometres of elevated track reaching up to Zaroli village on the Gujarat border.
Of the elevated section, 124 kilometres will comprise viaducts, including 103 kilometres constructed using 2,575 full-span launching method (FSLM) girders, and 17 kilometres with segmental girders. Additionally, 2.3 kilometres will consist of steel bridges over the Ulhas River and other key crossings, while 1.3 kilometres will run through bullet train stations at Thane, Virar, and Boisar.
The remaining 11 kilometres include seven mountain tunnels and specialised earthworks, adding to the engineering complexity of the corridor. The project, supported by Japanese technology and financing, is expected to revolutionise rail travel in India.