The National High-Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) achieved a significant milestone as it successfully erected the first 70-meter-long steel bridge over National Highway-53 in Surat, Gujarat, marking a crucial development for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor.
This inaugural steel bridge is the first among the 28 planned for the corridor, with an estimated steel usage of 70,000 metric tons. These bridges will feature spans ranging from 60 meters as “simply supported” to 130+100 meters as “continuous span.”
Notably, this marks the first instance of a steel bridge supporting a Shinkansen Bullet train operating at speeds of 320 km/h. The meticulous fabrication process involved nearly 700 pieces, amounting to 673 metric tonnes, at a workshop in Hapur district, Uttar Pradesh.
The bridge assembly, which reached heights of 12 to 14 meters, was placed on staging above 10- to 12-meter-high piers. Stringent testing, precision work, and careful painting were integral to the project’s success, all conducted under Japanese engineering guidance.
