In a major engineering milestone for India’s first high-speed rail corridor, Indian Railways has successfully completed a 100-metre-long “Make in India” steel bridge in the Ahmedabad district as part of the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project.
The bridge, weighing 1,098 metric tonnes, was constructed over the underground metro tunnel between Kalupur and Shahpur, where conventional viaduct design could not be used due to safety concerns for the metro infrastructure. To prevent load transfer to the metro tunnel, engineers redesigned the structure as a steel truss bridge with extended span length.
Assembling the bridge on temporary trestles at 16.5 metres above ground, the team later carefully lowered it onto its permanent supports, ensuring both precision and structural integrity. The bridge measures 14 metres in height and 15.5 metres in width and runs parallel to the Ahmedabad–Sabarmati main line of Western Railways.
Fabricated at a workshop in Wardha, Maharashtra, the structure was transported to the site on trailers. The installation involved around 45,186 high-strength bolts, protective C5 coatings and elastomeric bearings for durability