Bids invited for construction of BKC station, bullet train tunnel

The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited has invited bids for the design and construction of an underground station at Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex and for a tunnel for the bullet train project, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday.

This is the first set of bids invited after the rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde-led government came to power in Maharashtra.

The new government has given the green light to the project, which remained dormant during the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray-led dispensation.

"Bids invited for design and construction of Mumbai underground station and tunnels for #BulletTrain," Vaishnaw said in a tweet.

While the minister's tweet indicated that there were multiple tunnels, the NHSRCL clarified that there is only one 467-metre cut and cover tunnel and a 66-metre ventilation shaft in the tender package.

This shaft will also be used for taking out the tunnel boring machine (retrieval shaft).

The Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) station will have six platforms with each having an approximate length of 415 m (sufficient to accommodate a 16-coach bullet train).

The station will have connectivity with metro and road.

This is the only underground station on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor.

The platform is planned at a depth of about 24 metre from the ground level.

There will be three floors including platform, concourse and service floor.

One entry and exit point each have been planned.

While one will facilitate access to the nearby station of metro line 2B, the other will lead towards the MTNL building.

The station has been planned in a way that ample space is available for passenger movement and amenities at the concourse and platform level.

Dedicated skylight provisions have been made for natural lighting.

The amenities planned for passengers at the station include security, ticketing, waiting areas, business class lounge, nursery, restrooms, smoking rooms, information kiosks and incidental retail, public information and announcement system, and CCTV surveillance.

Besides, the integration with other modes of transportation like metro, buses, autos and taxis has been planned.

Earlier this year, the NHSRCL had cancelled tenders floated in November 2019 for the construction of an underground terminus at the Bandra Kurla Complex for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project after the state government failed to hand over the land.

After floating the tenders, the NHSRCL gave almost 11 extensions while waiting for the land at the BKC to be handed over to it.

Photograph: Reuters